Equipment Manufacturers Optimistic and U.S. to Press China on Phase One
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**The USDA is allocating another $100-million in funding to promote community and private-sector lending to expand meat and poultry processing.
The effort seeks to safeguard the food supply chain, which suffered serious disruptions during the pandemic.
Overall, the Build Back Better Initiative plans to invest $4 billion to strengthen the food chain and promote competition.
**Agriculture and construction manufacturers are upbeat about continuing economic recovery.
A second-quarter 2021-member survey from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers showed optimism remains as strong as it did in the first quarter.
AEM director of market intelligence, Benjamin Duyck (Duck) says about 76% of the Q2 survey respondents reported growth compared to the previous quarter. An even-stronger 87% reported growth compared to the previous year.
90% think that growth will continue during the next 12 months.
**The United States will press China to live up to its commitments in the “phase one” agreement, but U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai tells www.agriculture.com, agricultural trade is an “unpredictable sector” given Chinese willingness to intervene.
China is forecast to buy record amounts of U.S. farm and food exports this year, over $40-billion under phase one.
Volatile exports to China plunged to $9.2 billion in 2018 after the trade war started, but soared to $26.4 billion in 2020 after phase one was signed.
www.agriculture.com/news/business/agriculture-is-unpredictable-sector-in-sino-us-trade-says-tai