Ag News: Trump’s Concerns on China
**President Trump dismissed concerns over a protracted trade war with China, as Beijing warned Washington’s labeling it a currency manipulator would lead to chaos in financial markets.
According to agriculture.com, Trump, who announced last week he would slap a 10% tariff on a further $300 billion in Chinese imports, said investment is pouring into the U.S. economy and pledged to stand with American farmers in the face of Chinese retaliation.
**The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer jumped to 153 in July, up 27 points from June, and up 52 points from May.
Results are based on a survey of 400 ag producers across the U.S. conducted from July 15 through July 19, prior to USDA's announcement of 2019 MFP payment rates.
Agrimarketing.com reports, the Index of Current Conditions, a sub-index of the ag barometer, increased 44 points in July, marking the largest one-month improvement since data collection began 4-years ago.
**In an effort to enforce the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and ensure fair trading practices within the U.S. produce industry, the USDA imposed sanctions on three produce businesses for failing to meet their contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under PACA.
Theproducenews.com reports, two Texas companies are named as well as Morgan Hill, California-based Golden Rule Produce, for failing to pay an award of over $24,000 in favor of an Arizona seller.