Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULUTRE, 12/8/17

Sen. Chuck Grassley said it had become clear to him after recent meetings with top administration officials that Trump was not ready to abandon his brinkmanship over a possible withdrawal from NAFTA -- even though groups have argued that a potential pullout from NAFTA, or even the threat of doing so, could have disastrous consequences for farmers.

"You get the impression that this president has taken a tough negotiating position and he's going to stick with it," Grassley said in an interview with Pro Trade's Adam Behsudi. The Iowa Republican and senior member of the Finance Committee had an hour-long breakfast with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Wednesday and met individually with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer two weeks ago.

Grassley said he did not believe that Ross or Lighthizer want to harm agriculture intentionally, "but when I say that the president is sticking to a strong negotiating position, it's very possible that could happen."

An olive branch?: Grassley said he sensed there could be some willingness to compromise on some of the thornier proposals that Lighthizer had put on the table, but qualified his answer with "some assumption on my part."

"They are negotiators, and negotiators don't give up very early. They haven't given up yet," he said. "I think every negotiator knows there has to be some compromise. Now they didn't say that."

CARGILL GOES GRASS-ROOTS ON TRADE: U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill is undertaking a campaign, FedByTrade, to provide "relatable stories" to explain how trade helps feed the world. The initiative highlights how companies are ratcheting up their voice as a counter-narrative to the Trump administration's criticisms of trade and the U.S. trade deficit. Aside from providing facts about trade and trade deals, the company's site is encouraging its employees, farmers and others serve to as "ambassadors" for how trade has helped them.

"At the most basic level, trade facilitates feeding people," Devry Boughner Vorwerk, a corporate vice president told POLITICO during a visit to Washington. The focus is not just about NAFTA, although Cargill and its executives are certainly working closely with the National Association of Manufacturers and other groups to underscore the pact's benefits. Rather, the administration's hostility to a number of deals including TPP, NAFTA and the U.S.-South Korea trade pact is costing the agriculture sector, she argues.

"How many hits do we have to take before we realize that we're affecting rural farmers and rural livelihoods?" Vorwerk asks. "The uncertainty being created now is going to be exponential in the future."

Trump's premise that the NAFTA renegotiation should focus on cutting the U.S.'s trade deficits with its neighbors is approaching the talks in a backward manner, she suggests. "One thing you can do to reduce the trade deficit is to facilitate exports," she said.