File photo of containers at a seaport in Jakarta. (Leolintang/iStock/Getty Images)

APEC ministers call for curbs on farm, fuel, fishing subsidies

Washington/Wellington | Reuters — Pacific Rim trade and foreign ministers on Tuesday pledged to sustain the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic while pursuing talks to curb subsidies for fisheries and agriculture at a forthcoming World Trade Organization meeting. The ministers from the 21 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries said in a communique issued after […] Read more

EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU countries approve deal to overhaul farming subsidies

Subsidies to focus on sustainability, 'eco-schemes'

Brussels | Reuters — European Union countries on Monday gave the green light to reforms of the bloc’s huge farming subsidy program, after a three-year battle over rules to make it greener and support smaller farms. Negotiators representing the EU’s 27 countries and European Parliament struck the deal on Friday to reform the Common Agricultural […] Read more


File photo of domestic hogs on a German farm. (FooTToo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU farmers could get cash to curb emissions from belching livestock

Brussels | Reuters — Farmers should get European Union funding to reduce methane emissions from livestock or increase organic farmland, the European Commission said on Thursday, under plans to make agriculture greener. The EU is nearing the end of a two-year battle to overhaul its massive farming subsidies scheme, to attempt to align the agriculture […] Read more

A guest looks at their corn cob-themed tie signed by U.S. President Donald Trump during a signing ceremony for the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Jan. 29, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Leah Millis)

Trump’s payments to farmers hit all-time high ahead of election

Canadian growers seek level playing field

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump is assuring a bumper year for farmers as the Nov. 3 election approaches, with record government subsidies projected to make up more than a third of farm income in 2020. The aid programs could be key to Trump’s chances of success in swing states such as Wisconsin, […] Read more


Motorcyclists queue for fuel at a station in Khartoum on Feb. 10, 2020.(Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Sudan to continue to subsidize bread but with ‘justice’

Khartoum | Reuters — Sudan will continue to subsidize bread prices during transitional rule after Omar al-Bashir’s ouster but wants to achieve “justice” in distributing income supports, its trade and industry minister said on Wednesday. Bread shortages, caused by difficulties in raising hard currency to import wheat, triggered mass protests which — with the help […] Read more

Italian sausages, cheeses and other traditional foods for sale in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo in December 2016. (Florin1961/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. set to widen trade war on EU front

London/Brussels/Washington | Reuters — The United States won approval on Wednesday to impose import tariffs on US$7.5 billion worth of European aircraft and agricultural goods over illegal EU subsidies handed to Airbus, threatening to trigger a tit-for-tat transatlantic trade war as the global economy falters. The decision by the World Trade Organization pushes a 15-year […] Read more


A macrophage (immune response) cell in early stages of infection with African swine fever virus, magnified about 1,000x. (Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

China’s cabinet sees ‘shortcomings’ in bid to contain swine fever

Beijing | Reuters — China has shown shortcomings in some aspects of preventing African swine fever, and the situation remains complicated and severe, the country’s cabinet said Wednesday. The management of transporting live hogs is not strict enough, while there is insufficient capacity in testing for African swine fever virus in hog slaughtering, processing and […] Read more