Feb 21, 2017

The next trade war: organic food

Julie Jacobson / AP

American farmers of organic foods are getting pummeled by foreign competition, and they're hoping the Trump Administration does something about it. The Wall Street Journal reports that Turkey quadrupled its organic corn shipments to the U.S. and increased its organic soybean sales by eight times last year to rise to become America's largest imported source of those grains.

Why it matters: U.S. farmers are crying foul, and lobbying the United States Department of Agriculture to crack down on what they allege are shipments that do not actually meet the Department's "organic" standards, such as not using pesticides and certain fertilizers.

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The polarized pandemic election

A Trump supporter protests Pennsylvania's stay-at-home order, during a May 15 rally outside the Capitol in Harrisburg. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

President Trump is going all-in on pushing for a rapid, robust return to normal life, creating a visual, visceral contrast with Joe Biden and other Democrats who are more reticent to rip the masks off.

The state of play: Business friends have been urging Trump from the beginning to keep the lockdowns short. He's listening more and more.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow41 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Tech's long hot summer of antitrust

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Google, Facebook and other tech giants face a summer of regulatory grilling as long-running investigations into potential anticompetitive practices likely come to a head.

The big picture: Probes into the power of Big Tech launched by federal and state authorities are turning a year old, and observers expect action in the form of formal lawsuits and potentially damning reports — even as the companies have become a lifeline for Americans during the pandemic lockdown.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow1 hour ago - Technology

Palantir CEO hits Silicon Valley "monoculture," may leave California

Palantir is "getting close" to a decision on whether to move the company out of California, CEO Alex Karp said in an interview for "Axios on HBO."

The state of play: "We haven't picked a place yet, but it's going to be closer to the East Coast than the West Coast. ... If I had to guess, I would guess something like Colorado."

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow1 hour ago - Economy & Business