By Ryan Hanrahan
Reuters’ Julie Ingwersen and Leah Douglas reported that “analysts voiced concerns this week about the integrity of U.S. Department of Agriculture reports after the agency delayed a report and excluded findings that point to tariffs as a reason for a forecasted increase in the agricultural trade deficit, according to Reuters interviews with four analysts.”
“The administration of President Donald Trump has pledged to shrink the farm trade deficit and has said tariffs will strengthen the farm economy, but farm groups have been critical of the approach,” Ingwersen and Douglas reported. “The agency’s delay of a quarterly agricultural trade report and exclusion of its typical explanatory text were concerning because the moves raised questions about the objectivity of the data, two analysts said. ‘The trade is uneasy about USDA statistics now,’ said Charlie Sernatinger, head of grains with Marex, a brokerage and financial services company.”
“A USDA spokesperson said the report was delayed by an internal review,” Ingwersen and Douglas reported. “‘The report was hung up in internal clearance process and was not finalized in time for its typical deadline. Given this report is not statutory as with many other reports USDA does, the department is undergoing a review of all of its non-statutory reports, including this one, to determine next steps,’ the spokesperson said.”