WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD-TV) — The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office is preparing for the third and final day of hearings on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Today’s hearing is the last one this week ahead of next year’s official review. Several agricultural industry groups have already appeared before the panel, urging officials to maintain the positive trade momentum across North America.
The American Soybean Association’s Secretary Dave Walton testified, saying in part: “USMCA has delivered stability, predictability, and modernized trade rules that are indispensable for agriculture,” Walton said. “Soybean farmers are facing the most challenging landscape in a generation. Failure to renew USMCA would be catastrophic.”
National Corn Growers Association President Jed Bower touted the trade pact’s ability to hold countries accountable, pointing to Mexico’s prior refusal to accept GMO corn.
“This proved—without a doubt—that USMCA’s dispute settlement chapter worked for the U.S. corn industry,” Bower said. “If Mexico’s presidential decree was allowed to remain, other countries around the world could follow suit, imposing their own policies, not based on science, which would discriminate against U.S. corn.”
Canada Agriculture and Agri-Food (CAAF) leaders are also making their case, pushing for stronger cross-border trade ahead of next year’s review.
“So, both times, we went down with a message that Canada and the U.S. produce food together, and that’s better for Americans,” said CAAF Executive Director Michael Harvey. “We focus our message on Americans when we’re in America and concentrate on the fact that American producers get high-quality, lower-cost inputs that make them more competitive abroad, and to produce lower-cost food for American consumers, so we concentrate on that message. But given the fact that the USMCA, what we call CUSMA, review is upcoming, we focused our comments in that context. And in that context, what we’ve been saying is the CUSMA provides the framework that allows American and Canadian producers to make business decisions in the most efficient way. What people need is stability, and CUSMA provides that framework of stability.”
Harvey is hopeful his team’s discussions resonated with U.S. officials. He also warned that tariffs on products not made in the U.S could raise consumer prices. He said his organization will continue to engage with U.S. officials as the USMCA review draws closer.
“What we really see is that first there was an open letter, as you mentioned — there was support from the U.S. agri-food sector — there was an open letter signed by 124 U.S. agri-food organizations calling for a 16-year renewal of USMCA with limited changes,” Harvey explained. “That was good news. Frankly, when we were down in April, almost nobody from the U.S. private sector was speaking up on tariff issues. People were just keeping their heads down, worried about how the [Trump] Administration could react if they said anything. We’ve seen movement on that recently, and this letter from the U.S. agri-food sector representatives is a big part of that.”
Also sharing the Canadian perspective is Shaun Haney, host of RealAg Radio on Rural Radio SiriusXM Channel 147. Haney joined us on Friday’s Market Day Report with his thoughts
on this week’s discussions over USMCA and what he will be monitoring as the official review inches closer.
In his interview with RFD-TV News, Haney discussed the insights from trade talks this week, whether Canada and Mexico plan to join forces in negotiations against the United States, and the ag sectors that could experience disruptions if sectoral agreements become the key strategy to re-ratify the vital trade agreement.
