The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current, January 01, 2019, Page 3, Image 3

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2020
BUSINESS & AG LIFE
Trump will sign first-step of
China trade deal on Jan. 15
$250฀billion฀of฀imports.฀Those฀tariffs฀
have raised the cost of chemicals, electri-
The Associated Press
cal components and other inputs for U.S.
companies. American fi rms have cut back
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — The
on investment in machinery and other
fi rst phase of a U.S.-China trade agree-
equipment, slowing the economy’s growth
ment will be inked at the White House in
this year.
mid-January, President Donald Trump
A study last week by economists at the
announced Tuesday, adding that he will
Federal Reserve found all of the Trump
visit Beijing at a later date to open another
administration’s tariffs, including those on
round of talks aimed at resolving other
steel and aluminum as well as on Chinese
sticking points in the relationship.
imports, have cost manufacturers jobs and
The so-called “Phase One” agreement
raised their costs. That’s mostly because of
is smaller than the comprehensive deal
retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and
Trump had hoped for and leaves many of
other trading partners.
the thorniest issues between the two coun-
Many experts in the U.S. and China are
tries for future talks. Few economists expect
skeptical that U.S. farm exports can reach
any resolution of “Phase Two” before the
$40 billion. The most the U.S. has ever ex-
presidential election in 2020.
ported฀to฀China฀before฀has฀been฀$26฀billion.฀
And the two sides have yet to release
detailed documentation of the pact, making China has not confi rmed the $40 billion
fi gure.
it diffi cult to evaluate.
Still, the agreement has helped calm con-
Trump said high-level Chinese govern-
ment offi cials will attend the signing on Jan. cerns in fi nancial markets and among many
U.S. businesses that the trade war with
15฀of฀“our฀very฀large฀and฀comprehensive฀
China would escalate and potentially lead to
Phase One Trade Deal with China.”
a recession. The approval by the Democratic-
“At a later date I will be going to Beijing
led House of the Trump administration’s
where talks will begin on Phase Two!”
revamp of the NAFTA agreement has also
Trump said in his tweet. He did not an-
reduced uncertainty around global trade.
nounce a date for the visit.
Since the U.S.-China pact was fi rst an-
China has agreed to boost its U.S. goods
nounced in October, the stock market has
imports by $200 billion over two years,
risen steadily and is on track to fi nish the
the U.S. Trade Representative said Dec.
year฀with฀its฀biggest฀gain฀since฀2013.฀Most฀
13฀when฀the฀deal฀was฀announced.฀That฀
analysts now forecast that the economy will
includes increased purchases of soybeans
grow at a steady if modest pace in 2020, ex-
and other farm goods that would reach $40
tending the current record-long expansion.
billion a year.
The Phase 1 deal has left some major
China also has agreed to stop forcing U.S.
issues unresolved, notably complaints that
companies to hand over technology and
Beijing unfairly subsidizes its own compa-
trade secrets as a condition for gaining ac-
nies to give them a competitive advantage
cess to China’s vast market, demands that
in world markets.
had frustrated many U.S. businesses.
The Trump administration argues — and
In return, the Trump administration
independent analysts agree — that China
dropped฀plans฀to฀impose฀tariffs฀on฀$160฀
uses the subsidies in an effort to gain an
billion of Chinese goods, including many
advantage in cutting-edge fi elds such as
consumer items such as smartphones, toys
driver-less cars, robotics and artifi cial intel-
and clothes. The U.S. also cut tariffs on
ligence.
another $112 billion of Chinese goods from
Another sticking point in future talks
15%฀to฀7.5%.
Many analysts argue that the results are will likely involve rules around data fl ows,
fairly limited given the costs of the adminis- with China looking to require more foreign
tration’s฀17-month฀trade฀war฀against฀China.฀ companies to keep data they use in China
as opposed to stored overseas.
U.S.฀farm฀exports฀to฀China฀fell฀in฀2018฀to฀
“It’s a very toxic brew and I don’t know
about one-third of the peak reached six
years earlier, though they have since started that we’re really going to see much progress
on it,” said Mary Lovely, a trade economist
to recover.
at the Peterson Institute for International
Import taxes remain on about half of
Economics.
what the U.S. buys from China, or about
By Darlene Superville
and Christopher Rugaber
Corporate activity tax begins
Jan. 1, DOR offers resources
Oregon Department of Revenue
SALEM — With the
Jan. 1 start date for Or-
egon’s new Corporate Activ-
ity Tax, the Department of
Revenue reminds business
taxpayers of the resources
available to help them learn
about, and comply with, the
new tax law.
Several resources are
available for business
taxpayers and tax prepar-
ers on the CAT page of the
Department of Revenue
website at www.oregon.gov/
dor, including:
•฀A฀link฀to฀register฀
through Revenue Online
•฀A฀list฀of฀frequently฀
asked questions, including
high-level summaries of the
rules and other topics that
will help taxpayers comply
with the new law
•฀Drafts฀of฀the฀fi฀rst฀12฀
administrative rules
•฀A฀sign-up฀form฀to฀re-
ceive the latest updates on
the CAT
For other information,
email questions to cat.help.
dor@oregon.gov฀or฀call฀503-
945-8005.
What is the CAT?
The Oregon Legislature
created the Corporate Activity
Tax฀in฀House฀Bills฀3427฀and฀
2164฀during฀the฀2019฀session฀
to provide new funding for
early learning and K-12 edu-
cation. The CAT is imposed
on businesses for the privilege
of doing business in Oregon,
including those located inside
and outside of Oregon. It’s
measured on a business’ com-
mercial activity — the total
amount a business realizes
from activity in Oregon.
Businesses with taxable
commercial activity in excess
of $1 million must pay the
Corporate Activity Tax. The
tax฀is฀$250฀plus฀0.57%฀of฀
gross receipts greater than
$1 million after subtrac-
tions. The CAT applies to
all business entity types,
such as C and S corpora-
tions, partnerships and sole
proprietorships. Businesses
with฀more฀than฀$750,000฀in฀
Oregon commercial activity
are required to register for
the CAT.
Registration and
administrative rules
The new law requires
registration฀within฀30฀days฀
of meeting the threshold of
$750,000฀in฀Oregon฀com-
mercial activity. A penalty of
$100 per month may be as-
sessed for failing to register,
up to $1,000 per calendar
year. Businesses that wish
to do so can register early.
Registration for the CAT is
now open on Revenue On-
line (https://revenueonline.
dor.oregon.gov/tap/_/).
DOR is currently in the
process of writing tempo-
rary administrative rules to
provide guidance and clarity
regarding the new tax. The
rules have been divided into
three groups according to
priority. The highest prior-
ity group will be fi led with
the Secretary of State in
January, with the other two
groups following in February
and March. As drafts of the
rules are completed, DOR
will post them on the CAT
webpage. Draft versions of
the fi rst 12 temporary rules
are now available.
Visit฀www.oregon.gov/
dor to get tax forms, check
the status of your refund,
or make tax payments; call
800-356-4222฀toll-free฀from฀
an Oregon prefi x (English or
Spanish)฀or฀503-378-4988฀in฀
Salem and outside Oregon;
or email questions.dor@
oregon.gov. For TTY (hear-
ing or speech impaired), call
800-886-7204.
THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — 3B
New apple varieties
are red inside and out
So he collected seed from the trees after
they had been pollinated by Honeycrisp. The
trees from that seed were more promising,
PROSSER, Washington. — They’re little
and by 2009 he had what he later trade-
known so far with commercial sales just be-
ginning, but the breeder of the red-fl esh Lucy marked฀as฀Lucy฀Rose฀and฀Lucy฀Glo.
Proprietary฀Variety฀Management,฀in฀
Rose฀and฀Lucy฀Glo฀branded฀apples฀hopes฀
Yakima, working with focus groups selected
consumers will love them.
the names and oversees commercialization.
“I’m a proud grandpa of these things. All
Chelan Fresh Marketing in Chelan and
I’ve heard is good things. We have a picture
Stemilt฀Growers฀in฀Wenatchee฀have฀licenses฀
on our refrigerator of a preschool group in
to grow, pack and sell the apples.
Kirkland and the card says, ‘We love your
“They’ve created a lot of excitement as
apples!’” says Bill Howell, the breeder and
something new and different,” said Tim Ev-
grower in Prosser.
ans, general sales manager of Chelan Fresh
They have “outstanding fl avor” from Hon-
Marketing.
eycrisp as one parent and a “hint of berry”
They are selling at high-end prices with
from the other, a crab apple, he says.
The฀Lucy฀Rose฀has฀red฀skin฀while฀Lucy฀Glo฀ just a “couple thousand boxes” sold the
fi฀rst฀year฀from฀the฀2018฀crop฀and฀about฀
is a little tangy and has yellow skin.
8,000฀40-pound฀boxes฀sold฀in฀two-layer฀
Howell,฀74,฀was฀a฀research฀technologist฀
Euro cartons from the 2019 crop, Evans
in plant virology at the Washington State
said.
University Irrigated Agriculture Research
Chelan Fresh sold out in early December
and฀Extension฀Center,฀in฀Prosser,฀from฀1973฀
to retailers across the country, he said.
to 2012. He studied viruses in sugar beets,
“There are some handling issues with the
carrots and fruit trees.
Glo.฀It’s฀prone฀to฀bruising฀and฀the฀red฀fl฀esh฀
He’s now the part-time manager of the
can come through. We’ve tried to create best
Northwest Nursery Improvement Insti-
practices,” he said.
tute, an association of commercial tree fruit
Chelan Fruit Cooperative members and
nurseries.
Gebbers฀Farms฀grow฀the฀apples,฀he฀said.
He has cattle and tree fruit on his 9-acre
Howell is experimenting with Cripps Pink
Topcliffe farm near Prosser and planted the
and Honeycrisp crosses but says his empha-
fi rst Honeycrisp apples in the state there in
sis is on red-fl esh varieties.
1994.
The limiting factor, he said, is fi nding
About 20 years ago as Crunch Pak, in
enough cooler, high-elevation sites where
Cashmere, was starting to produce snack
packs of sliced apples, Howell thought, “It
they grow best for maximum fi nish, color and
would be neat to have some color in there.”
quality.
He obtained and planted three varieties
“Ultimately, we are all trying to grow the
of red-fl esh apple trees from a nursery in
apple market,” Howell said. “I hope that with
Michigan.
the uniqueness of red fl esh and fl avor that
“They turned out to be not very good qual-
we can get per capita consumption of apples
ity fruit,” he said.
up a bit.”
By Dan Wheat
Capital Press
EPA orders Bonanza.com to
stop selling illegal pesticides
Environmental Protection Agency
SEATTLE — The U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency issued a Stop Sale
order to online marketplace
Bonanza.com requiring the
company to immediately halt
sales of a dozen imported
pesticide products not legal
— or safe — for sale in the
United States.
Among the unregistered,
illegal pesticides targeted
by the order is “Miracu-
lous Insecticide Chalk,” a
common and particularly
dangerous product because
of its documented history of
causing illness in children
who mistake the chalk for
regular sidewalk or black
board chalk.
None of the pesticides in
the EPA order are registered
with the EPA, and most
contain false or misleading
claims on their labelling.
All pesticides for sale in the
United States must be regis-
tered with the EPA and have
an EPA registration number
on their labels.
Ed Kowalski, director of
the Enforcement and Com-
pliance Division of EPA’s
Region 10 offi ce in Seattle,
said, “The proliferation of
unregistered pesticides in
the marketplace, particularly
in the e-commerce environ-
ment, poses a signifi cant
and immediate health risk
to consumers, children, pets,
and others exposed to the
products in use or in transit.”
The Bonanza.com prod-
ucts targeted by the EPA’s
Stop Sale order are:
trader ray’s
SHOOT BETTER, SAVE MONEY!
We Sell New & Used Guns at Competitive Pricing
Hours:
Mon-Sat 11-5:30
2800 Broadway, Baker City
541-523-9397 • 541-519-7842
•฀Cockroach฀Killing฀Bait฀
Box Anti Pest Control Roach
Magic
•฀Miraculous฀Insecticide฀
Chalk Cockroach Roaches
Bug Pest Killer Magic Pen
•฀Cockroach฀Killing฀Bait฀
Cockroach Killer Roach Pest
Control Insecticide
•฀Cockroach฀Killing฀Bait฀
Pest Control Powder Power-
ful Kill Particle
•฀Green฀Leaf฀Powder฀
Killer Bait Cockroach Repel-
ler Pest Control
•฀Green฀Leaf฀Cockroach฀
Killing Bait Powder
•฀Powerful฀Cockroach฀
Killing Bait Roach Catcher
Kitchen Household Pest
Controller
•฀Cockroaches฀Killer฀
Cockroach Repellent Smoke
Mosquitoes Fly Ants Home
Pests
•฀Maxforce฀FC฀Select฀Roach฀
Killer฀Gel฀Bait฀+฀Feeding
•฀Mole฀Poison฀Veleno฀
Talpa. Killer Taupe - Pest
Control
•฀NoNest฀Cockroach฀
Eliminator฀Gel
Cockroach Pest Control
Gel฀35G฀Cockroach฀and฀
Domestic Insects Killer
Agromaxi
Illegal distribution of “Mi-
raculous Insecticide Chalk”
and฀“Green฀Leaf฀Cockroach฀
Killing Bait Powder” were
the subject of EPA Stop
Sale orders issued to Ama-
zon฀in฀2015฀and฀2016฀and฀
a subsequent $1.2 million
penalty order against the
company.