July 31, 2018

Economic council director confident that Europe will buy more US soybeans
 

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has no authority to persuade European feed companies to buy soybeans from the US, even after Europe is expected to do so following Juncker's meeting with US President Donald Trump, Forbes reported.

In late July, Juncker had called upon Trump at the White House to deescalate a looming trade war, spurned by the latter's insistence of "unfair" trade with other countries.

According to Larry Kudlow, director of the US National Economic Council, the deal to sell soybeans to Europe is assured. "We will have an actual transaction, guaranteed... Starting out right away with soybeans, beef and liquefied natural gas, which is a huge topic," he said during a weekend talk show. He claimed Juncker agreed to Europe's buying of US soybeans, "which will help ameliorate the China problem."

Notably, the US deal with the EU to enable lower tariffs had met the goal of isolating China in its current trade dispute with the US, Kudlow commented.

However, French agriculture officials maintained that the EU will not adjust strict food safety regulations, which have made it challenging for US farmers to sell beef to Europe.

On the contrary, Kudlow pointed to a final communique, which stated that the objective of future negotiations was to "open markets for farmers and workers, increase investment, and lead to greater prosperity in both the United States and the European Union."

"The EU story is moving ahead very rapidly. And I think that by the way put China in a very difficult position," Kudlow added.