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Trade relationships continue to be key for US ag

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this week, a meeting that could have implications for future trade relations between the two countries.

Trump and Abe will likely discuss the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement, a deal which Abe supports but Trump opposes.

Many in the ag industry are nervous about how the new administration will handle foreign trade.  That’s because there’s a lot on the line, says Purdue University ag economist David Widmar.  “If we have a hiccup in one or two of those relationships it’s going to be felt at the farm level,” he says.  “We need to keep an eye on the government’s trade relations and the policies moving forward for that.”

Widmar says with big supplies of corn and soybeans on hand, export markets will be key to American farmers.