We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Terms and Cookie Policy
Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, February 16, 2025
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) released their much-anticipated analysis of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) yesterday, and the upshot for U.S. food and agriculture was a clear win.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement would be an overall win for the U.S. farm sector, reforming biotechnology and phytosanitary standards, but it would also allow for only “slight increases” in exports of some U.S. agricultural commodities, according to a 379-page analysis released today by the U.S. International Trade Commission.
The renegotiated North American trade pact is popular in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, but the Trump administration and U.S. lawmakers are making ratification increasingly difficult with complications that threaten to derail the process.
If American almond, citrus, pork, apple and dairy farmers want any chance of regaining their markets in China, Mexico and Canada, U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs will likely have to be lifted. The problem, however, is the threat of cheap foreign metal flooding the U.S. market is now as high as ever.
The Trump administration, seeking to gain support for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement from apprehensive House Democrats, sent its chief trade advisor to Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to try to sell the pact and address lawmakers’ concerns.
The House of Representatives is awash with new lawmakers. They’ve only been on the job for a few months but could present a formidable obstacle for the Trump administration as it pushes for approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
While acknowledging that “it’s tough out there,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue assured producers at Commodity Classic on Friday that there are reasons to be optimistic about the farm economy.
The top U.S., Canadian and Mexican agriculture officials came together today to espouse the benefits of trilateral cooperation and a newly renegotiated North American trade pact, but the unity was marred by the Trump administration’s refusal to lift its steel and aluminum tariffs.
If the Trump administration wants the legislatures in the U.S., Mexico and Canada to ratify the renegotiated trade agreement that binds all three countries with virtually no ag trade tariffs, it’s going to have to lift its steel and aluminum tariffs, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Wednesday.
