Today’s signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement by President Trump increases hopes that 2020 will begin a stronger decade for America’s farmers and ranchers. Trump’s signature was the final step in enacting the agreement in the U.S. Mexico approved the USMCA last year. Canada must still ratify the pact, which is expected to occur in the next few months. The agreement will take effect 90 days after all countries have approved it.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is expected to increase agricultural exports from the U.S. by $2 billion and result in an overall increase of $65 billion in gross domestic product. Canada will increase quotas on U.S. dairy products, benefiting American dairy farmers by $242 million. Canada will also treat wheat imports the same as domestic wheat for grading purposes. Mexico has also agreed that all grading standards for ag products will be non-discriminatory. The agreement also enhances science-based trading standards among the three nations.
National Pork Producers Council President David Herring said,“USMCA provides U.S. pork producers with certainty in two of our largest export markets and we thank President Trump and his administration for making USMCA a top priority. We look forward to implementation of a trade deal that preserves zero-tariff pork trade in North America.”
In 2018, Canada and Mexico took more than 40 percent of the pork that was exported from the United States and a similar volume is expected in 2019. U.S. pork exports to Canada and Mexico support 16,000 U.S. jobs.
National Corn Growers Association President Kevin Ross declared President Trump’s signing of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement a big win for American agriculture. Mexico and Canada are the U.S. corn industry’s largest, most reliable market; 21.4 million metric tons of corn and corn co-products, valued at $4.56 billion, were exported to Mexico and Canada in 2018. The signing follows overwhelming Congressional support for the trade deal.
Ross said, “This is a big win for America’s farmers, our rural communities and the American economy. USMCA builds on our already successful trading partnership with Mexico and Canada. This agreement should serve as a template for opening the door to new market opportunities for U.S. corn. Corn farmers are grateful for the hard work done by the President, the U.S. Trade Representative and everyone in the Administration who made today’s signing possible.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Jennifer Houston said, “This is a great day for America’s cattle producers and we were once again honored to participate in another great victory for our industry. Of course, the ratification of USMCA comes on the heels of a game-changing new trade deal with China, a new bilateral agreement with our largest export partners in Japan, and much-improved access to the European Union.
“Add that to the new waters rule that was finalized last week, new proposed grazing regulations, and new proposed rules that would provide much-needed relief the National Environmental Policy Act, and it’s easy to see that 2020 is off to a truly historic start for U.S. beef producers.”
