**The U.S. and China are expected to sign a “phase one” trade deal next week, but fruit exporters shouldn’t expect immediate removal of Chinese tariffs on U.S. fruits.

U.S. Apple Association president Jim Bair tells thepacker.com, White House officials are saying “phase one” makes no mention of China’s retaliatory tariffs.

Bair adds it’s our strongest hope and expectation the deal will indirectly result in China’s removal of retaliatory tariffs against U.S. apples.

**California regulators have streamlined the state's permit process to make it faster to approve tree-thinning projects designed to slow massive wildfires that have devastated communities in recent years.

According to agrimarketing.com, the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved a vegetation management program that allows new projects to use a preapproved environmental analysis rather than starting fresh each time.

Governor Gavin Newsom equated it to emergency orders he issued last year to speed up approval of 35 forest management projects in high-risk areas.

**According to data collected by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the global value of trade in live animals totaled $21.7 billion in 2017, a 141% increase over the total value in 2000.

The types of animals involved in this trade included nearly 45 million hogs, 16 million sheep, just under 11 million cattle, about 5 million goats, 1.9 million poultry, and just under 324,000 horses.

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