Here are the top shippers to the US by volume so far this year As we’ve noted[Chinese Solar Imports Draw Fire], there’s been a surge in solar imports from China that has alarmed advocates for the US domestic industry. Now US solar manufacturers are reported to be...
House bill challenges 2010 agreement that settled cotton dispute by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor In my last column, about Brazil’s surprising spike in demand for US ethanol and cotton, I noted that the way had been cleared for shipments of $328 million worth of US...
Do surging shipments and dropping prices signal dumping? Potential scandal aside, Solyndra’s August bankruptcy filing, close behind the failures of Evergreen Solar and SpectraWatt, signals a fast and hard shake-out of the US solar energy industry. A global glut of...
Cotton and ethanol leap into Brazil’s top 5 imports from the US by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor China has roared past the US to become Brazil’s top trade partner, but the US is still the top exporter to the Latin American giant, and those exports – plus the US surplus...
Latest spike is a variation on the pattern set in 2002 A steady downward trend in global food prices in 1980-2002 has given way to sharp rises and falls. A report from the US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (ERS) looks for answers to the question...
Wine exports are “growing like crazy.” But protectionism could stopper trade. by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor Argentina surged ahead of Chile to become the third largest source of US table wine imports during the first quarter, according to the National Association of...
Hurricanes, oil spills, and now flooding feed the dead zone The Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone” is forecast to cover 8,500 to 9,421 square miles – an area the size of New Hampshire – this summer, surpassing the record set in 2002, reports the National Oceanic and...
Trade data can shed light on a low-profile company’s x-border commerce Back on April 7, we took a look at what Datamyne trade data can reveal about Colombia’s consumption of US exports. We noticed then, but didn’t comment on, the fact that three of Colombia’s top five...
USDA 10-year agricultural projections concede major role to ethanol and biodiesel The US Department of Agriculture just released its long-term forecast for the farm sector. USDA Agricultural Projections for 2011-20 cover sector indicators, commodities, and trade. Key...
Corn ethanol is cast as a culprit in rising food prices (again) A Financial Times report from the Commodity Markets Council annual meeting (this week in Palm Beach) notes that Dodd-Frank financial system reforms top the list of worries for the commodities futures...
