Washington Insider

The New York Times carried a long report on Thursday suggesting that the administration's hard line on China will cost votes among groups that went heavily to the President in 2016.

Well, it seems that there is considerable angst now about the implications of federal policies of many kinds, especially taxes and trade. The Hill says that new projections on the size of the federal deficit and the price tag of the recent tax-cut law are...

Well, it seems the current House farm bill draft is getting more controversial day by day. For example, in addition to proposed changes to the nutrition programs, the draft bill includes a provision that would allow EPA to approve pesticides without...

Amid the usual confusion over prospects for renewing the expiring farm bill and fights with China and other trading partners this week, Bloomberg is reporting that there is both good and bad news regarding food safety.

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member, Collin Peterson, D-Minn., represents a western Minnesota district and farmers are important economic sector in Minnesota. He recently told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that this year's bill "arrives amid controversy...

There is plenty of talk in the national media this week about trade policy and the basic principles as well as potential negotiating strategies. In a more down-to-earth look, the New York Times says the administration is pushing hard to reach a NAFTA deal by...

Bloomberg and others are reporting this week that the fog of political war concerning ag-trade issues is deepening now, and just when you thought it couldn't get any more opaque.

Washington Post is reporting this week that the effort in Congress to pull back some approved spending that was talked about last week "might already be dead." The Post says early opposition from two key Republican senators who said Monday that they...

After heavy trade shocks last week, things seem a little calmer now. For example, Bloomberg is reporting that a "stopgap NAFTA deal could be around the corner."

Well, rural politics and the ag sector made the front page on lots of media over the weekend, but the tone was unwelcome. For example, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, one of the deepest-dyed Republican stalwarts and chair of the Senate Agriculture...

While everyone is focused on trade, another fight may be near the surface, and that concerns the administration's infrastructure proposal, the Washington Post says this week. It also argues that the impending departure of the President's top White House...

Bloomberg notes that in early March, the President declared trade wars "good, and easy to win," but that such talk is now alarming many U.S. business leaders, who largely support existing trade deals. It also has roiled securities markets, which fear lower...

The White House is eyeing what it calls a "long-shot plan" to slash spending from the $1.3 trillion budget bill signed by President Trump late last month.

This year, Bloomberg notes, the prospective plantings survey comes during a time of rising trade tensions and heightened producer anxiety. And, while China is planning trade restrictions on numerous commodities, including ethanol, some analysts expect that...

USDA says it has no plans to regulate advanced breeding techniques that achieve the same results as traditional techniques, only faster, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced last week.

Natural gas is on the defensive against the push for alternative energy, but it isn't likely to be unseated as the country's primary source of electricity generation anytime soon.

There still is a cloud of uncertainty regarding the Republican agenda for the rest of the year after passing a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending package, The Hill says. It expects that legislative activity will slow down dramatically after the Easter recess as...

During the recent presidential campaign, both candidates were extremely negative on trade and its impacts, and the media mainly let those arguments stand. More recently, there have been a number of more thoughtful analyses presented as doubts grew about...

With Chinese import demand currently on the wane however, new Chinese tariffs could not come at a worse time for U.S. exporters who have already seen their market share eroded in recent months.

China has significant leverage over Farm Belt voters who helped elect Trump, Bloomberg said. He captured 61% of the vote in U.S. rural areas and small towns, according to exit polls. The Asian nation is the most important foreign customer for U.S. agriculture...