With the July 1 implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), poultry and feed industry groups are expressing excitement over the prospects the new trade agreement will bring.
USMCA replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has been in place since 1994. The three involved countries signed the agreement in November 2018, with Mexico ratifying the agreement in 2019 and the United States and Canada ratifying it earlier in 2020.
Reaction from AFIA
“We are entering into a new era of trade with Canada and Mexico – one that allows U.S. animal food producers to remain competitive, strengthens our regulatory engagement and commitments with our trading partners and lays the groundwork for innovation to meet the agriculture industry’s future needs,” said American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) President and CEO Constance Cullman. “I commend our countries’ national leaders, particularly the efforts of President Trump and his administration over the past three years, for making this much-needed agreement a reality.”
National Chicken Council reaction
“USMCA will maintain or improve market access for chicken exports in our top two valued markets – Mexico and Canada. It will also positively impact both the U.S. agriculture sector and the broader national economy,” said Mike Brown, president of the National Chicken Council (NCC).
The NCC, in a July 1 tweet, expressed its thanks to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, President Donald Trump and his administration, and members of the U.S. Congress.
National Grain and Feed Association reaction
Randy Gordon, president of the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), said for grains, oilseeds and their derived products, as well as animal food, the USMCA “preserves and strengthens market access while providing effective new mechanisms and safeguards to resolve sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues that in the past periodically have disrupted trade,” said NGFA President and CEO Randy Gordon.
Gordon also expressed optimism that USMCA could provide framework for trade agreements with other countries.
“But the accord’s longest-lasting and most important impact may well be the solid framework it provides for the United States to negotiate significant new trade agreements with other countries, including Japan, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Kenya and other nations on the African continent,” said Gordon.
Congressional responses
During a conference call hosted by Farmers for Free Trade, held on June 30, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she is excited about the trade prospects USMCA provides, noting that not only are Canada and Mexico the two largest trade partners of the United States, but in terms of Iowa products, the two countries’ impact is huge.
“Of course USMCA is important from an ag perspective, but as we look at Iowa overall, we are a huge ag state. … Mexico and Canada are our two top trade partners but when you combine them, and then you add up the next 27 of Iowa’s ag trade partners, Mexico and Canada is still more than the next 27,” said Ernst, a member of the Senate agriculture committee.
Jim Costa, D-California, in the same conference call, said USMCA is a good replacement for NAFTA, and sets the groundwork for a strong agricultural economy.
“The success of these trade agreements, I think are key to the 21st Century economy. Our European allies, and ourselves together with Canada and Mexico account for over half of the world’s economy,” said Costa, the chairman of the subcommittee on livestock and foreign agriculture.
As global trade only will increase, notwithstanding this (COVID-19) pandemic, its absolute3ly critical for us to be able to trade fairly in a world that has a great deal of competition. If we can trade fairly wityh a level playing field as we like to say, American agriculture, I think, can compete on any playing field.”
Reps. Collin Peterson and Ron Kind also hailed the enactment of USMCA, but both said the U.S. must be vigilant to make sure provisions of USMCA are being followed by all parties involved.
