Farm Economy

Nafta or No Nafta, the $12.43-an-Hour Pay Gap Is Irresistible

Trump Welcomes Trudeau to Washington With Another Nafta Threat

American Farm Bureau Federation tax expert Patricia Wolff outlines how the tax reform framework announced by the White House and Congress will impact farmers.

Trump’s Top Trade Negotiator Says China Unprecedented Threat (1)

NAFTA 2.0 negotiations begin this week in Washington. The hoped-for conclusion will not be as quick as some want, nor take as long as some observers predict. But a long list of policy hurdles is evident.

President Donald Trump has signed more than 30 executive orders during his first 100 days, and he hasn’t forgotten to get the agriculture industry and rural America involved. Earlier Tuesday, Trump signed the executive order, titled Promoting Agriculture and Rural Prosperity in America, in front of newly installed Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, a 14-member farmer roundtable and others.

Donald Trump is moving quickly to dismantle seven decades of American policy built on trade deals and multinational alliances that help fuel the U.S. and global economies.

Agriculture might benefit from less oversight, but trade policies could see a setback from president-elect Trump’s plans.

The benefits of free trade have been a cornerstone of economic thought for decades. Recently, though, trade agreements have become the target of a populist backlash, with opposition to trade deals emerging as a key issue in the presidential race. At the same time, new research suggests that trade led to lower wages and higher unemployment for some Americans, particularly middle-class manufacturing workers.

With billions of dollars at stake, the negotiations over Monsanto’s proposed—and so far rejected—merger with Syngenta have moved on to a very visible stage, with both companies speaking directly to shareholders, farmers, and the public.