Today is Election Day in a number of states. Virginia and New Jersey will select a governor and legislators, while of more interest to agriculture, the state of Washington will vote on ballot initiative 522 to label genetically modified (GMO) foods. Under the initiative, failure to label GMO food would result in a civil penalty and each day of non-compliance would be considered a new violation.The ballot initiative itself has some language that ranges from the intriguing: Polls consistently show that the vast majority of the public wants to know if their food was produced using genetic engineering. Without disclosure, consumers of genetically engineered food unknowingly may violate their own dietary and religious restrictions.
Foods i...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: The tariff burden rose sharply in 2025 and 2026: the effective rate on imports in HTS Chapters 1–24 increased from 1.53 percent in 2024 to 6.11 percent in 2025, before averaging 5.68 percent in January–August 2026. Headline rates tell only part of the story: exemptio...
Markets are getting into the Halloween spirit, handing out more tricks than treats. There has been some encouraging news, but it hasn’t been enough to slow the broader slide. Now buyers need to show up with something other than another “Charlie Brown” rock for the bag. Somethi...
