The Biden Administration has thus far resisted demands by industry and agriculture to include market access in its trade policy vehicles such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. The White House views cutting tariffs akin to picking a war with its key constituency, labor unions. Meanwhile, Brussels has viewed pursuing a trade agreement with the U.S. as a waste of time after the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership effort fizzled out after 2016. Now German lawmakers in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ government want to use the transatlantic Trade and Technology Council as a platform to negotiate lower tariffs. The idea is unlikely to be embraced in either Brussels or Washington, but it does present a rallying cry for businesses an...
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...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.