California Trade Hearing and U.S. Vietnam Trade Negotiations
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**California ag advocates made the case in Sacramento this month that federal trade policies should prioritize certainty and predictability to benefit farmers and ag exporters.
At the hearing, California Farm Bureau’s Matthew Viohl said countries are looking at us as not as reliable a trade partner as we used to be.
The hearing focused on the consequences of President Trump’s tariff policies on California industries, including agriculture, and the 90-day U.S.-China tariff pause.
**The U.S. and Vietnam have begun their second round of trade negotiations.
The Vietnamese government is working to establish a new trade agreement that will help it evade a possible 46% tariff, that are paused until July, a move that could destabilize its export-oriented growth model.
Vietnam, a crucial regional manufacturing hub for many Western firms, reported a trade surplus of over $123 billion with the U.S. in 2024.
**The USDA’s May Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook calls for tighter anticipated supplies of beef cattle after the U.S. banned cattle imports from Mexico.
Tighter supplies will reduce beef production in 2026 to 25.14 billion pounds.
Also, the 2025 milk production forecasts have increased to 227.3 billion pounds.
Wholesale dairy and milk prices are also revised upward, with the all-milk price forecast increased to $21.60 per hundredweight.
