WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD News) — Leaders from the U.S., Canada and Mexico are reviewing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement after U.S. trade officials declined to renew the trade pact ahead of the July 1 deadline.
Virginia Houston with the American Farm Bureau Federation said negotiations are continuing, with the U.S. and Mexico currently leading bilateral trade talks.
“July 1 is the official date by which all three parties had to agree to renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. USTR now said they have not agreed to renew it, so we have entered into an annual review process with Canada and Mexico for up to the next ten years. Currently, the U.S. and Mexico are in bilateral negotiations on trade irritants around USMCA. Canada is being slower to join the party, but we do know that their government wants to be engaged and is also committed to keeping USMCA in place, as is Mexico, which is so important for U.S. agriculture.”
Canadian agriculture leaders are also in talks with U.S. officials on a path forward. With the July 1 deadline now passed, the agreement will move into annual reviews through 2036, when USMCA is scheduled to expire.
RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney said he hopes negotiations result in a new agreement well before then.
“Now it’s critical that they come to some sort of agreement before 2036. Surely we can assume they’re going to, because that would actually would extinguish the agreement if there was nothing before that date. So negotiations continue. USTR in their press release mentioned specifically the bilateral talks with Mexico. And of course, Canada, a little bit relatively on the sidelines, still waiting to get their deal done with the U.S. as well.”
Haney added the agriculture industries in the U.S., Canada and Mexico largely believe USMCA has been beneficial for all three countries.
State agriculture officials have also weighed in. Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Randy Romanski said the state’s dairy industry has benefited significantly from the agreement that replaced NAFTA.
“The example I would give is that Wisconsin has seen a tremendous increase in dairy products going to Mexico. Mexico is now our number one destination for cheese. We need to keep that rolling, and there are some things that we need to iron out as it relates to dairy products and cheese with our neighbors to the north, but you know, you put Mexico and Canada together, and that’s more than half of the ag, food, and forestry trade that the state of Wisconsin has. I’m throwing some numbers at you, but the big picture, it’s really important that we renew this agreement.”
Romanski noted he thought USMCA was a good agreement when President Trump first brokered the deal and said that had not changed.
