As President Trump considers quitting the trade pact he signed in 2020, agricultural industry groups band together to promote extending the USMCA trade deal.
The USMCA was signed by President trump in January of 2020, but now the President is considering quitting the trade pact in favor of annual renegotiations. Industry groups, especially those that promote American agriculture, are promoting the renewing of the USMCA to deliver consistency to trade.
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Alexis Taylor, International Fresh Produce Association: “The export markets between Canada, Mexico and the United States are highly integrated, which makes for really efficient flow of goods, which ultimately saves money for the end consumer.”
This week, the Agricultural Coalition for USMCA began a campaign to encourage the renewal of the USMCA trade agreement in its current form.
Krista Swanson, National Corn Growers: “If we remove that framework that offers those things, then we would be talking about an environment with greater instability, and we are already in a challenging farm economy.”
The 2018 Agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, known as the USMCA, is up for a mandatory review and renewal by July of 2026. Renewal would extend the trade pact for another 16 years.
The Coalition was launched on February 5th, and this week began its marketing campaign on the benefits of the USMCA for American agriculture. The over 40 farm commodity and industry trade groups that form the Coalition argue that while the agreement has areas that need to be revisited, the successes of the USMCA justify its extension.
Krista Swanson, National Corn Growers: “While the agreement is due for a few targeted improvements, overall, it is critical to the farm economy, and it is certainly critical to rural America, particularly in tough economic times like we are in right now.”
Bloomberg has reported that President Trump has discussed withdrawing from the USMCA. A failure to renew the trade deal by the three member countries would trigger annual negotiation cycles for the next 20 years. If the trade treaty passes muster it will be renewed for 16 more years.
For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs.
Contact: Peter.Tubbs@iowapbs.org