Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 1/16/19

The World Trade Organization is expected to side with the U.S. in a longstanding dispute over Chinese government subsidies for wheat, corn and rice growers, Pro Trade's Doug Palmer reports today. The confidential WTO ruling was circulated to parties before Christmas and could be made public in late February — just as Washington and Beijing could be in the final stages of trade talks — or in early March.

Background: In October 2016, then-U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman alleged that China had exceeded international limits on ag subsidies by $100 billion in 2015. U.S. officials say Beijing's grain subsidies (and other policies) distort global trade and unfairly restrict the Chinese market for American farm goods.

— Mark your calendars: Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will lead the Chinese delegation to Washington from Jan. 30-31 for further trade talks. Liu will meet with USTR Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Our partners at the South China Morning Post have the story.

Lighthizer said there hasn't been progress toward structural reforms of China's trading practices, according to Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, who met with Trump's chief trade negotiator on Friday. But Lighthizer told the Iowa Republican that discussions about Beijing purchasing more U.S. farm goods were going well, Pro Trade's Sabrina Rodriguez reports.

— USMCA timing: Grassley also said Lighthizer envisions moving the implementation legislation for the so-called U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement through the House first and then the Senate. "They still are putting implementing legislation together," he told reporters on a conference call.