Agriculture

What’s at stake for farmers, food and the land in a new NAFTA

The re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Mexico and Canada begins tomorrow and there is much at stake for farmers and rural communities in all three countries. Despite promised gains for farmers, NAFTA’s benefits over the last 23 years have gone primarily to multinational agribusiness firms. NAFTA is about much more than trade.

Trump's action plan with China puts global agribusiness first

Politicians and headline writers often tout new trade announcements as big wins for U.S. farmers and ranchers. Almost never do they declare plainly, and more accurately: this deal is a big win for global agribusiness! Conflating the interests of global agribusiness operating in multiple countries and U.S. farmers’ is a misleading spin that serves corporate interests over the rest of us.

The biotech trade empire strikes back—at USDA!

The American Farm Bureau organized letter on proposed new rules regulating genetically engineered (GE) crops is short, just two pages, with three pages of agribusiness signatories, 103 organizations.

Trump’s agricultural trade policy with China: trade-offs or trade disputes?

With the U.S. confirmation of the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) having taken place little more than a month ago, it may seem premature to write about the Trump administration’s agricultural trade policy. However, it appears that at least parts of this trade policy are occurring in trade-offs with China, outside traditional USTR and USDA channels.