Flurry of year-end trade deal announcements give farmers hope for 2020 – By Jessie Higgins (UPI) / Jan 1 2020
EVANSVILLE, Ind., Jan 1 (UPI) — For America’s farmers, 2019 was a year of depressed prices, vanishing trade and disastrous weather. But, as the year drew to a close, some 11th-hour victories made them cautiously optimistic for a better 2020.
“It seems like, maybe, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Curt Mether, an Iowa corn and soybean grower.
That light came in the form of trade deals.
On Dec. 13, the U.S. and China announced they had agreed to a preliminary “Phase 1” deal. President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will sign the deal Jan. 15. For some farmers, the news signaled an end to the 18-month trade war that has put major strain America’s farm economy may be in sight.
Less than a week later, the House of Representatives passed the new United States Mexico Canada trade agreement — after more than a year negotiating with the White House — that ensures free trade will continue with America’s two leading agricultural buyers.
The Senate is to vote on the deal early this year. It is expected to pass.
“The trade deals are both giving us some hope,” Mether said. “The passage of USMCA, we’re really excited about. We need that. And the China deal, even if it’s phase one, it’s something. We have some hope.”
Continue to article: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/01/01/Flurry-of-year-end-trade-deal-announcements-give-farmers-hope-for-2020/4411576886033/?ls=1
