Month: September 2019

China will lift punitive tariffs imposed on U.S. soybeans and pork in a trade war with Washington, a state news agency said Friday, adding to conciliatory gestures by the two sides ahead of negotiations.

China will suspend tariff hikes on soybeans, pork and some other farm goods, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Cabinet planning agency and the Commerce Ministry. Beijing “supports domestic companies in purchasing a certain amount of U.S. farm produce,” it said, but it gave no details.

The move follows President Donald Trump’s decision Wednesday to postpone a planned Oct. 1 tariff hike on Chinese imports to Oct. 15.

Hopes are growing that the two sides might defuse the prolonged dispute that is threatening global economic growth. But there has been no sign of progress on the main issues in their sprawling conflict over trade and technology.

“China has a huge market, and the prospects for importing high-quality U.S. farm produce are broad,” Xinhua said. “China hopes the United States will be true to its word, make progress on its commitments and create favorable conditions for bilateral agricultural cooperation.”

After several years of modest increases, Wisconsin students’ math scores declined during the 2018-19 school year, according to the latest data from state education officials. Proficiency in English was also down slightly.

The state Department of Public Instruction released the latest scores for the Wisconsin Student Assessment System on Thursday. The report includes test results from the Forward Exam, taken by students in third through eighth grade, and the ACT, a national college admission test taken by 11th-graders.

Overall, student scores in math decreased slightly during the 2018-19 school year. The decline comes after three years of modest increases in math scores: 40.1 percent of all students were proficient or advanced in math in testing this spring.

Overall performance in English also declined in the latest report, going from 40.6 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in 2017-18 school year to 39.3 percent last year.

Elizabeth Tomev, education information services director for DPI, said part of the declining scores comes from challenges with funding. She said students are entering the classroom with more challenges than ever before.

“We have to make sure that we have the funding to make sure that we meet all of the needs of the students when they need it,” Tomev said. “And that includes helping with effective instruction, making sure children are feeling safe and supported, making sure they have the mental health supports that are necessary, any of that.”

She said increased funding for K-12 schools in the latest state budget is “an important down payment” on the investment need in public education.

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP reached a tentative agreement with some plaintiffs to resolve litigation over its alleged role in fueling the U.S. opioid crisis and plans to tussle with states opposing the settlement offer in bankruptcy proceedings as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter said.

On Wednesday, lead lawyers representing more than 2,000 cities, counties and other plaintiffs suing Purdue, along with 23 states and three U.S. territories, were on board with an offer from the company and its controlling Sackler family to settle lawsuits in a deal valued at up to $12 billion, the people said.

More than a dozen other states remain opposed or uncommitted to the deal, setting the stage for a legal battle over Purdue’s efforts to contain the litigation in bankruptcy court, they said.

Purdue’s current proposal would use bankruptcy proceedings to transform into a public trust with a board selected by court-appointed trustees, the people said. The trust would donate drugs the company developed to combat opioid abuse to U.S. communities, which Purdue values at $4.45 billion over 10 years.

Between 2014 and 2017, the overall number of faculty members at the state’s two-year and four-year campuses dropped by 491 positions. That works out to a decline of around 7.7 percent. But during the same timeframe the total number of employees categorized as “administration and academic leaders” grew by 53 positions for an increase of 3.5 percent.

The growth of administration within colleges and universities is not unique to Wisconsin but the state’s numbers exceed national trends. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) the number of employees categorized as “management” at public and private postsecondary institutions grew by just under 3 percent between 2013 and 2017. At the same time the number of faculty members nationwide remained relatively stable.

“It is true nationally there has been a long-term rise in administrative staff,” said Richard Vedder, professor emeritus of economics at Ohio State University who has studied the growth of administration in higher education. “Many people call it administrative bloat at colleges and universities, and I think Wisconsin is showing that too.”

Attorney General Josh Kaul today announced that Wisconsin is joining 49 attorneys general in a multistate, bipartisan investigation of tech giant Google’s business practices in accordance with state and federal antitrust laws.

The bipartisan coalition, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, announced plans to investigate Google’s overarching control of online advertising markets and search traffic that may have led to anticompetitive behavior that harms consumers.

Legal experts from each state will work in cooperation with Federal authorities to assess competitive conditions for online services and ensure that Americans have access to free digital markets.

“The tech sector is an important part of the U.S. economy, and tech companies have access to a lot of personal information,” said Attorney General Kaul. “We must ensure that competition over technological innovation and privacy protections isn’t stifled.”

Missy Hughes will serve as the next secretary and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Gov. Tony Evers announced Thursday.

Hughes has served as chief mission officer and general counsel for Organic Valley/CROPP cooperative since 2003, and has also served as a member of the Organic Trade Association since 2013. She has previously served on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture.

“Having worked in a high-growth business for many years, with the goal of helping farmers stay on their farms now and for the coming generations, I am excited to bring my experience to the Evers Administration, and I look forward to helping all of Wisconsin thrive,” Hughes said in the release.

“With her background helping small businesses and family farms, coupled with her experience navigating complex governmental, regulatory, trade, and business matters, Missy Hughes will be an incredible asset to our team as we work to grow an economy that works for everyone,” Evers said in the release.

“I look forward to working with Ms. Hughes as we connect the dots on economic development in a way that encourages entrepreneurship and innovation while supporting our farm economy, our manufacturers, and the Main Street businesses, start-ups, and large-scale companies that help our communities grow.”

The total value of Wisconsin exports dropped $673.2 million during the first seven months of the year, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

At almost $12.7 billion, the first seven months of 2019 are Wisconsin’s worst start to the year for exports since 2016. It is just the second time since 2012 that exports did not top $13 billion by the end of July.

Manufacturers and farmers have been hit be increasing global trade tensions, particularly between the U.S. and China. The release of detailed July data was delayed, but through June, exports to China had decreased 26.3% for the year, accounting for nearly 38% of the Wisconsin total export decline. Exports to Canada decreased 5.6% in the first six months of the year while shipments to Europe were down 2.7% and Mexico was down 1%.

Wisconsin’s year-to-date number includes a 4.6% decline in July. Nationally, U.S. exports have declined 0.66%, including a 0.47% drop in July.

While Republican lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers exceeded expectations by finalizing the state budget on time in early July, there are few signs their legislative productivity will carry through to the fall.

So far, lawmakers have signed into law just a third of the number of bills they enacted in 2017 under unified Republican control of state government, illustrating the damper that Evers has placed on Republican priorities during an era of split government.

Still, a number of actions are still possible, including Senate confirmation for Evers’ cabinet secretaries and legislation related to water quality, suicide prevention, mental health and the regulation of Wisconsin’s new hemp industry. There may also be an attempt to override some of Evers’ budget vetoes, though Republicans lack the necessary two-thirds majority.