Agriculture ministers from five EU countries (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia) are asking the European Commission to come up with a solution to the harm they say is being caused by imports of grain from Ukraine. One option is to impose tariffs on Ukraine. However, it is their analysis of why Ukraine is more competitive that is noteworthy. They say, “The main reason for this is that cheaper Ukrainian agricultural products, due to different farming standards and land sizes…” The data is very tricky but the EU’s own stats show that the average farm size in Ukraine is 15 times larger than the average EU farm size. Amongst the complaining EU members, Slovakia actually has a larger average farm size than...
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.
A federal appeals court paused a USITC ruling against President Trump’s use of Section 122 to impose 10-percent global tariffs. A bipartisan group of 80 House members asked USTR to investigate specialty crop imports from Mexico for unfair trade practices. India notified the WT...