Walmart Sues Poultry Companies and Potato Industry on Tariff Removal
From the Ag Information Network, I'm Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**The U.S. Meat Export Federation concluded its Spring Conference and Board of Directors Meeting with a panel discussion on the global trade impact of African swine fever, first detected last August in China.
USMEF Senior Vice President Joel Haggard says the Chinese government estimates the country's hog inventory is down more than 20% due to ASF.
ASF was also recently confirmed in Vietnam, Cambodia and Hong Kong.
**America's largest retail grocer, Walmart has filed suit against various U.S. poultry companies alleging a conspiracy to inflate chicken prices.
The antitrust suit, filed in the U.S. District Court , alleges more than a dozen major chicken companies "reached illegal agreements and restrained trade."
The suit alleges as early as 2008, "Defendants' restraint of trade was implemented primarily through coordinating their output and reducing the supply of broiler chickens into the market, and by manipulating price indices with respect to wholesale chicken prices."
Noticeably absent in the long list of defendants was Tyson Foods.
https://www.agweb.com/article/walmart-vs-big-chicken/?mkt/
**U.S. potato industry reps are enjoyed a bit of good news when steel and aluminum tariffs were lifted for goods from Canada and Mexico, resulting in the canceling of retaliatory tariffs issued against U.S. ag exports like potatoes and apples.
National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles tells growingproduce.com, now, attention turns to securing passage of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as well as fortifying potential trade concessions from China on fresh and chip potato imports.
https://www.growingproduce.com/vegetables/u-s-trade-good-news-for-potato-growers-as-retaliatory-tariffs-evaporate-usmca-passage-nears/