Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 5/24/18

The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service has been "intimately involved" with U.S. trade negotiators and will be included in a delegation headed to China led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said Wednesday, reports Pro's Blake Paterson. "They were at Secretary Ross' left elbow last week during the discussions specifically on commodities we believe we could expand our exports to China with," Perdue told reporters.

Biotech opportunity: Discussions have taken place on China approving imports of more U.S. food grown using biotechnology, Perdue said. "We're also looking at non-tariff measures regarding some of the policies and protocols that restrict U.S. products of going in to China. That will be part of the technical discussions as well."

Perdue added that he'd like to see a wider variety of ag exports sent to China, such as soybeans, rice, corn and poultry, to name a few. "There's several commodities in that basket that we're capable of selling a lot more to China," he said.

China's signal: Separately, China hinted Wednesday that it could soon significantly increase imports from the U.S., Pro Trade' Adam Behsudi writes. China's Ministry of Commerce posted a statement saying: "China welcomes high-quality, competitive American products to enter the Chinese market."

No reason to celebrate?: Sen. Ben Sasse played down the outcome of the recent meetings involving the Trump administration and Chinese officials. Farmers and ranchers back in Nebraska are not "very excited about the current status of trade negotiations with China," Sasse said during a breakfast organized by The Washington Examiner. "They're glad that there's a diminution in the risk of what looks like a precipitous trade war, but that looks mostly like the administration is walking back from its opening bellicose rhetoric — not because much has actually happened."