President Trump says his trade war on China is “having a devastating effect” on the Middle Kingdom and “they have to make a deal,” but he also warns that they better not delay negotiations after reports that Beijing intends to wait for his successor in 2021. In other words, they must not be hurting that bad. China’s exports to the U.S. have fallen a small fraction relative to lost American sales. Now AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka says organized labor cannot support USMCA, threatening Congressional approval of that agreement. When asked about the 2020 election amid all this trade policy debacle, one trade association leader with decades of respected political experience and a Republican background said, “...
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.