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The White House on Thursday accused China of using “industrial scale” technology to steal U.S. artificial intelligence secrets and vowed to take action, providing another potential source of friction ahead of a mid-May summit meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
- “The U.S. has evidence that foreign entities, primarily in China, are running industrial-scale distillation campaigns to steal American AI,” wrote White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios in an X post. “We will be taking action to protect American innovation,” OSTP Director Michael Kratsios wrote in an X post Thursday morning.”
The announcement came a day after the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing, “Stealth Stealing: China’s Ongoing Theft of U.S. Innovation.” During the review, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, presented evidence showing Chinese technology theft cost the U.S. economy between $400-600 billion a year, according to Fox Business News.
Soybean futures ended slightly lower Thursday, while wheat futures soared on weather concerns in the Plains and provided a modest lift to corn futures. Soybean bulls have a lot riding on the meeting, looking for affirmation from Beijing that China will follow through on what the White House has said is a commitment to buy 25 million metric tons of the commodity a year for the next three years (see item below).
Trump last week soothed fears that the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would antagonize Beijing and threaten the meeting. Trump said China was “very happy” about U.S. efforts to open the Strait and had agreed not to send weapons to Iran; he predicted that Xi would give him a “big, fat hug” when they meet. But Trump earlier this week expressed ire with China over what he implied was military aid to Iran.
A ‘very specific commitment’: U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer wasn’t sweating the outlook for soybean purchases in testimony Thursday before the House Ways and Means Committee, asserting that the administration is looking for a broad expansion of agricultural exports to China.
- “There’s been a lot of talk about soybeans, and we have a very specific commitment on soybeans,” Greer said, according to AgriPulse. “But we’re also looking to get a commitment from the Chinese overall with respect to all agriculture.”
Revisiting Biden-era fertilizer plan: USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters Wednesday that the administration was looking into a revival of the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program, Politico reported. The program was designed by Biden officials to help farmers weather price shocks and a highly consolidated fertilizer market after Russia launched its war on Ukraine, could be pressed into service.
“We are looking into that right now,” Rollins told reporters Wednesday. “We don’t care whose idea it was, if it was a good idea, or at least part of a good idea, we’re going to take that and build on it.”
The report said that the Biden administration committed $900 million to the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program, which provided money to small and midsize fertilizer production facilities through five-year grants.
Oil wipes out last week’s fall: Crude-oil futures rose for a fourth straight session Thursday with no resolution of the Iran war or any serious resumption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in sight. Oil futures plunged on Friday after Iran said it was opening the strait to traffic. But Iran announced the crucial waterway, which normally accounts for maritime flows equal to 20% of global oil and natural gas production, and around a third of key fertilizers, was closed again on Saturday after the U.S. refused to end its blockade of Iranian ports. WTI finished with a gain of 3.1% at $95.85 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 3.1% to $105.07.
USDA relocations continue: USDA on Thursday said it would relocate a number of economic research and food safety staff from the Washington, D.C., area as part of its broader reorganization. USDA said it would establish a new National Food Safety Center in Urbandale, Iowa, which will serve as the primary hub for Food Safety and Inspection Service administrative, technical and support operations.
USDA also announced steps to further consolidate Economic Research Service and National Institute for Food and Agriculture operations in Kansas City. The plan involves moving Washington.-based positions and recalling remote staff to the Kansas City hub as originally mandated in 2019. Meanwhile, the National Agricultural Statistics Service will shift various D.C. and regional positions to St. Louis or other branch offices, while maintaining a field presence for essential data collection, USDA said. Meanwhile, USDA will also begin decommissioning its flagship research site in Beltsville, Maryland, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, and moving programs to other locations.
Protein trade-offs: As consumer demand for protein surges, partially fueled by the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss medications, food manufacturers are grappling with the cost and quality tradeoffs between dairy, soy, and pea sources, Food Dive reports. Ingredient supplier ADM notes that while two-thirds of consumers want more protein, they are currently prioritizing quantity over the specific source.Soy remains the dominant value play for manufacturers; ADM scientists indicate that soy protein isolate provides the same high protein quality as dairy but at a cost three to five times lower. Conversely, dairy protein prices, particularly for whey, continue to climb due to high demand and limited availability. While soy offers cost stability and high functionality, some brands are pivoting to pea protein to avoid allergen labeling and appeal to “clean label” trends, despite pea protein having a slightly lower digestibility score (80%) compared to soy and dairy.