Ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is the top trade issue concerning the United States Congress, said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas.
Moran, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on agriculture, addressed USMCA during a news conference held on January 13 at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) 100th Annual Convention.
Leaders from the three involved countries signed the agreement in November, designed to replace the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has been in place for more than 20 years. However, the legislative bodies of the three countries must still approve and ratify the agreement before it can take effect.
“The most important trade issue that we face as a Congress, as a legislative issue, is ratification (and) approval of USMCA,” said Moran. “I’ve offered my support in a broad way for USMCA.”
NAFTA still necessary, for now
While Moran is anxious for USMCA to take effect, he said he strongly encourages U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration to retain NAFTA until USMCA ratification takes place.
Moran’s said that it is his belief that it will be easier to pass USMCA with NAFTA in place, “otherwise the opponents to trade agreements have even greater leverage and can alter the agreement in ways that make it more difficult for us to be supportive of,” Moran said.
“It also would create tremendous uncertainty broadly in the economy and certainly in agriculture if there was no agreement. If NAFTA is gone or is being adjudicated in the courts, while Congress is trying to figure out how we can get USMCA passed, that is a bad outcome for Kansas agriculture and for American agriculture, and creates greater uncertainty in our economy.”
Moran, who recently toured the new Cargill Protein headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, has served as a U.S. Senator since 2011. Prior to that, he served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a member of the House Agriculture Committee.
