The United States became the first nation in the world to formally quit the Paris Agreement, the landmark deal struck in 2015 designed to combat global warming, intensify actions for low-carbon growth and avert catastrophic climate change.

The global accord aims to limit global warming to “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures.

President Donald Trump, a staunch opponent of the international accord, announced the move in June 2017 on grounds that it was ‘unfair’ to the United States. The US government notified the United Nations formally last year.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published a progress report about the implementation of the agricultural provisions in the US-China Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement.

Outstanding sales of US corn to China are at an all-time high of about 8.7 million tons, while US pork exports to China touched a record in just the first five months of 2020, the report said.

“This China Phase One Agreement is proof President Trump’s negotiating strategy is working. While it took China a long time to realize President Trump was serious, this deal is a huge success for the entire economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, adding the agreement finally levels the playing field for U.S. agriculture and is a bonanza for American farmers.

The United States might lodge a complaint against the European Union to the World Trade Organisation if it goes ahead with a farming strategy that Washington believes “protectionist”, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue warned, adding the effect on transatlantic trade could be extremely problematic.

In a teleconference, Perdue told European journalists that he had warned the European Commission about his doubts.

It should be mentioned here that Brussels has formulated a so-called “farm to fork” agriculture plan as part of its “Green Deal” that would broaden the existing Common Agricultural Policy.

At a recent meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United States, Brazil, Canada, EU, Brazil and New Zealand raised questions at India’s several agricultural policies including sugar subsidies, quantitative restrictions on lentils through its marketing assistance scheme.

At the meet, they also asked the South Asian nation about the repercussions of its food stocks on the world market and if New Delhi is breaching its support limit for other farm goods like it did for rice for marketing year 2018-19, the Economic Times reported.

“Many questions were posed to India about its multiple agriculture policies and transparency issues arising from its new domestic support notifications,” said a Geneva-based official.

Farmers from the U.S. Southeast, mainly those cultivating crops like cotton or sorghum, got larger trade aid payments from the government in 2019, the non-partisan Government Accountability Office said.

Notably, the Trump administration rolled out several subsidy schemes to compensate growers for lost sales during the tariff war with China.

Although many farmers support the US Presidential, dissatisfaction from farmers in states like Wisconsin or Michigan might play a big role in upcoming presidential election.

The tariff-free ethanol import program with the US will be extended by Brazil for 90 days starting September 14, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

During that time, both countries will discuss ways in which they can open up their respective soy, corn and ethanol markets.

It should be noted here that the South American nation allowed a non-tariff quota for imports of around 750 million liters per year of ethanol to expire at the end of August, resulting in American producers having to pay a 20% tariff.

The India-US mini trade deal is unlikely to see the light of day before the November presidential elections in the United States, officials said as New Delhi and Washington are negotiating a deal to iron out differences on trade issues to boost economic ties.

The South Asian country has sought 100% restoration of benefits under the GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) scheme and duty concessions for some agricultural products.

Worth mentioning here is that the United States remained India’s top trading partner for the second consecutive fiscal in 2019-20. According to the available data, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 88.75 billion in 2019-20.

The US administration is mulling a ban on some or all products made with cotton from the Xinjiang region, an autonomous territory in northwest China, over alleged human rights violations.

The potential ban comes amid reports of the use of forced labour on minority Muslims in the autonomous region, the New York Times reported.

China is one of the leading cotton producers globally and most of its crop is grown in Xinjiang. Human rights groups say the region’s Uighur minority are being persecuted and recruited for forced labour.

Worth mentioning here is that the US lawmakers had proposed a legislation in March also to prevent goods made in Xinjiang region from reaching the US.

Taiwan’s opposition parties have started a push for a referendum to block the easing of restrictions on American pork imports, which if passed could endanger a long-mooted free trade deal with the US.

President Tsai Ing-wen announced last month that the government would allow the import of US pork containing the feed additive ractopamine and US beef more than 30 months old.

For the uninitiated, Taiwan has been pursuing a trade deal with the United States for at least 15 years but its strict food safety regulations on meat imports have been a major barrier.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited Iowa and designated 18 Iowa counties as primary natural disaster areas, enabling producers who suffered losses because of the recent Derecho, to be eligible for emergency loans.

“The extent of damage to crops, equipment, facilities, and the ag sector as a whole from this storm is devastating,” said Secretary Perdue.

He also reminded producers about several disaster assistance programs available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including program flexibilities and a special signup through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).