Corn for Cars Incoming Mexican agriculture minister Julio Berdegue said his country’s new government will not reduce imports of (GMO) yellow corn, but will make self-sufficiency in white corn a priority. Others suggested GMO white corn will continue to be restricted no matter the verdict in a pending dispute settlement case. A ban on all GMO corn is dubious from both a science-based standpoint and per explicit language in the USMCA. Banning corn just based on its color is even more questionable. But the Biden Administration is equally obstinate on automobile rules of origin. It says it will not comply with a USMCA dispute settlement panel ruling that Washington’s existing policy is a violation of the agreement. Sounds like the...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...