U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is pushing back at critics of the Biden Administration’s withdrawal from decades of trade liberalization. She continued the populist rhetoric that the Administration’s position is a defense of workers, that the U.S. position reflects a global trend, and that this will be a long-term trend. As characterized by former Clinton labor secretary and stalwart trade skeptic Robert Reich, the rules have been rigged against American manufacturing workers and this is a necessary reset. Meanwhile, Republicans seeking to replace Mr. Biden are echoing this message. Former President Trump wants to impose a 10-percent tariff across the board, and his primary opponents are focused on shutting down t...
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.