epa

**Japanese purchases of U.S. beef are about to be subject to a 50% tariff after imports in the three-month period ending June 30 triggered a “safeguard” mechanism. A Japanese spokesman says imports of frozen beef in its fiscal first quarter exceeded the amount required to trigger the safeguard, as agreed to in the 1994 WTO agreement...

**Democrats voiced strong objections to funding levels and legislative riders in the Interior/Environment spending bill, but saved amendments for this week when the full House Appropriations Committee will mark up the fiscal 2018 bill. At last week’s hearing, the bill was cleared for consideration by the full committee despite expressions of disappointment from some Democrats...

**A court has ordered the EPA to move forward with regulations on methane pollution from oil and gas production. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 the agency improperly delayed compliance with a methane rule issued by the Obama administration in 2016 requiring oil and gas companies to be in compliance by June...

**The Senate Ag Committee has approved a bill to reauthorize the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act, which requires companies to pay fees to help fund registration applications and reviews conducted by the EPA. The measure cleared the committee by voice vote last week...

**EPA will extend the deadline to meet requirements of its new farmworker protection standard until guidance and training materials are ready to help states implement the changes. The EPA’s Wendy Cleland-Hamnett did not specify a new deadline for compliance, but NASDA and other farm groups have repeatedly asked for an extension until at least Jan...

**US Meat Export Federation Asia Director Joel Haggard says U.S. beef export opportunities to China are hard to determine until we know more about what protocols they will require of U.S. ranchers and exporters. China says it’s willing to resume importing U...

OLYMPIA  (AP) — Republican Sen. Doug Ericksen's temporary job with the Environmental Protection Agency has ended. The Bellingham Herald reported Thursday that his 120-day post in the administration of President Donald Trump ended May 20 Ericksen, of Ferndale, had been appointed as communications director for the EPA transition team in January...

**The Trump administration is working quickly to withdraw the controversial Waters of the U.S. rule, but that may be the easy part. EPA officials met last month with associations representing state and local agencies to outline the agency’s plans to first withdraw the WOTUS rule and replace it with something less expansive...

**Members of the Senate Ag Committee say they’ll need to stretch every dollar allocated in the 2018 Farm Bill. Regardless of the crops they grow, the Michigan farmers who testified at a Farm Bill hearing Saturday said a strong safety net program was at the top of their priority list...

**It took newly sworn Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue only a few days to take his show on the road. Perdue’s first official visit as Secretary was to Kansas City last week where he met with the Department of Agriculture’s Beacon Facility, where he said he puts trade at the top of his agenda...