How far out are pending trade agreements?

U.S.-Japan: On Monday, Sep. 16, President Trump informed Congress that he had reached an initial trade deal with Japan. The president noted his intent to sign an agreement before the end of September with a key goal being “more fair and reciprocal trade” between the U.S. and Japan.

At the G7 in August, Trump said, “We’ve been working on a deal with Japan for a long time. It involves agricultural and it involves e-commerce and many other things,” per DTN. The deal includes Japan buying some excess U.S. corn. Japan imported 15.8 MMT of corn in 2018/19 market year, 12.6 MMT of which came from the U.S.

U.S.-China: No agreement has been reached. However, China did temporarily lift tariffs on imports of U.S. soybeans, pork, and other farm products last week in response to the U.S. delaying its tariff hikes to Oct. 15.

Chinese and U.S. officials are expected to meet in Washington on Thursday, Sep. 19, as the two countries prepare for trade negotiations in early October.

At the October trade negotiations, which will also be held in Washington, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are expected to meet with China’s top trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, per Reuters.

U.S.-Mexico-Canada: Another trade topic is the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which Canada will approve after its Oct. 21 election.

The U.S. Congress is being urged to ratify the USMCA before 2020, which could give the U.S. economy a boost and may benefit some segments of the U.S. agricultural industry.