Washington Insider

USDA and prosecutors are investigating whether the meatpacking industry is manipulating prices. The federal government did the same thing 100 years ago when antitrust prosecutors broke up meat monopolies. Can they repeat the process Politico asks?

Bloomberg is reporting this week that the contents of the next coronavirus relief package will hinge on a central question of whether the goal should be to provide another tourniquet for the economy or a crutch to help return it to normal.

The Trump administration is promising strong action against China’s new national security law in Hong Kong, but faces limited options because any harsh penalties could likely also harm both Hong Kong and the U.S., Bloomberg says.

The U.S. president and other Republicans have been ratcheting up efforts to paint China as the villain as the U.S. economy drifts into recession and the president’s handling of the coronavirus crisis is being increasingly criticized. China has denied...

Bloomberg is reporting this week that high U.S. unemployment likely means that the chance of an immediate economic bounce back from the coronavirus appear slim. As a result, lawmakers are said to agree they’ll need to provide further fiscal aid, even as partisan rifts remain over how...

The outlook for trade fights just now should be read with some skepticism. The prospect includes the deteriorating relationship between the U.S. and China, but those tensions may not lead to the collapse of the small trade peace Beijing and Washington signed up for in January.

Bloomberg reported recently that while President Donald Trump has been musing about another trade confrontation with China. Trump had discussed potentially ending the largest trading relationship in the world, with tensions high over the coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg said.

Politics has become increasingly difficult and opaque these days as the House completed work on a new $3 trillion economic stimulus bill that Republicans and President Donald Trump say has little chance of passage without major changes, Bloomberg says.

Roll Call is reporting this week that farmers may be warming up toward an issue they have long avoided: climate change. The report harks back to a recent press conference where a farm coalition now said it wants to join the fight against climate change rather than remain cast as villains...

Bloomberg is reporting this week that federal regulators are dragging their heels in creating guidelines for the use of agricultural biostimulants, despite high demand from farmers for products such as seaweed, manure, kelp and peat.

Bloomberg is reporting this week that while Republicans seemed to accept programs that boosted recent deficits, the flood of pandemic-relief has rekindled deficit concerns among Republican lawmakers. It cites this as one of several hurdles facing the next round of stimulus many economists say...

Threatened shortages of meat products that are prompting many Americans to give plant-based alternatives a try, The Hill says. It thinks this trend might allow a previously marginalized industry to quickly expand.

The Trump administration is considering action against the China trade deal, and that top Chinese and U.S. trade negotiators will speak as soon as next week on progress in implementing the first phase. The administration says it will terminate the agreement...

Bloomberg wrote this week about stresses facing the U.S. meat supply as plants shut down and employee absences grew. Grocers from Kroger Co. to Costco Wholesale Corp. are rationing supplies, the report says, and notes that "even Wendy’s Co. dropped burgers from some menus."

One of the persistent concerns of economic observers focuses on shifts in the structure of the economy in response to large economic trends. For example, Bloomberg says that the biggest companies are getting even bigger these days and "midsize players are running on fumes."

One of the persistent concerns of economic observers focuses on shifts in the structure of the economy in response to large economic trends. For example, Bloomberg says that the biggest companies are getting even bigger these days and “midsize players are running on fumes.”

The New York Times is reporting this week that "since slaughterhouses became coronavirus hot spots, the meat industry has been asking the administration for help. On Tuesday, the president gave them what they were looking for, a broad declaration that the slaughtering and processing of...

In addition to financial support, the national anti-virus effort is mobilizing a large group, perhaps 300,000 workers, to trace past contacts of infected people, Bloomberg is reporting this week. The effort is seen as crucial for coast-to-coast reopening, though controversial.

At this moment when broad efforts are underway to reduce the impacts of the coronavirus, lobbyists are pushing hard on many areas, and are especially scrambling to expand relief on more tariffs. Bloomberg says. It notes that tariff payments for U.S. companies are coming due soon on...

At this moment when broad efforts are underway to reduce the impacts of the coronavirus, lobbyists are pushing hard on many areas and are especially scrambling to expand relief on more tariffs. Bloomberg says. It notes that tariff payments for U.S. companies are coming due soon on...