After calling NAFTA an historic trade blunder, President Trump called on Congress on Tuesday to pass its successor, saying the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) would expand American agriculture. Wheat growers responded by warning against withdrawing from NAFTA, a tactic Trump has discussed, before the new trade agreement is ratified.
NAFTA guaranteed duty-free access to Canada and Mexico for most U.S. farm exports. The USMCA would preserve duty-free access and make modest improvements in cross-border trade, mostly for dairy and wheat. Chief executive Chandler Goule of the National Association of Wheat Growers said the way to maintain U.S. trade advantages “includes remaining in NAFTA until (USMCA) is in place and moving forward with new bilateral deals.”
During the 80-minute State of the Union speech, Trump said the USMCA would “deliver for American workers: Bringing back our manufacturing jobs, expanding American agriculture, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring that more cars are proudly stamped with four beautiful words: Made in the USA.”
The farm economy “has only worsened” during Trump’s tenure, said Rob Larew, senior vice president of the National Farmers Union. “The reality is that once-stable markets for U.S. farm products are now being lost to our competitors,” because of Trump’s policy of trade confrontation, said Larew. “If the president truly wants to support American farm families, he will begin to restore our reputation around the world as a reliable trading partner.”
“Our trade agreements with other nations are getting stronger, and the strategies the President has employed will lead to new and expanded markets for our products,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
President Zippy Duvall of the American Farm Bureau Federation said farmers and ranchers want immigration reform to assure a reliable workforce. “We echo President Trump’s call for Congress to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to preserve and build on the export gains with our North American neighbors,” he said.
A coalition of farm, food and manufacturing groups urged the White House in late January to remove U.S. tariffs on imports of steel from Canada and Mexico “so that zero-tariff North American trade can resume and we can turn our attention to working with you to gain prompt congressional approval of the USMCA.” The coalition said retaliatory tariffs by Canada and Mexico were disrupting trade.