Senate Passes USMCA on Thursday

Check back for updates as the US Senate has passed the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement by a vote of 89-10.

WASHINGTON D.C.- (AP) The Senate has overwhelmingly approved a new North American trade pact that rewrites the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico. Passage of the measure gives President Donald Trump a major policy victory before senators turns their full attention to his impeachment trial. The measure goes to Trump for his signature. It would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA. It tore down most trade barriers and triggered a surge in trade. But Trump and other critics blamed NAFTA for encouraging U.S. companies to move their manufacturing plants south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican laborers.

Reaction from farm groups and more:

Secretary Naig Celebrates the Passing of the USMCA Trade Agreement

DES MOINES, Iowa (Jan. 16, 2020) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate’s vote to pass the USMCA trade agreement.

“I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to negotiating better trade deals for America’s farmers,” said Secretary Naig. “This year, we’ve secured new agreements with Japan, China, Canada and Mexico — four of our largest trading partners — which gives producers greater market access for their products and a renewed sense of optimism heading into the 2020 growing season.”

• Full implementation of USCMA could increase U.S. agricultural exports by $2.2 billion, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.
• Iowa exports to Canada in 2018, according to WISERTrade.
  • $198 million of ethanol
  • $137 million of animal feed
  • $108 million of pork
  • $7 million of beef
  • $86 million of corn
  • $44 million of soybeans
• Iowa exports to Mexico in 2018, according to WISERTrade.
  • $15 million of ethanol
  • $229 million of animal feed
  • $112 million of pork
  • $1 million of beef
  • $546 million of corn
  • $224 million of soybeans

####

Secretary Perdue Statement on Senate Passage of USMCA

(Washington, D.C., January 16, 2020) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement after the Senate passed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by a bipartisan vote of 89 – 10.

“We’ve long waited for this day and now USMCA will finally head to the President’s desk,” Secretary Perdue said. “The passage of USMCA is great news for America’s farmers and ranchers. With Congressional consideration now complete, our farmers and ranchers are eager to see the President sign this legislation and begin reaping the benefits of this critical agreement. I thank President Trump and Ambassador Lighthizer for successfully delivering an improved and modern trade agreement and working so hard for the people of American agriculture to get this deal across the finish line.”

Background:
USMCA will advance United States agricultural interests in two of the most important markets for American farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses. This high-standard agreement builds upon our existing markets to expand United States food and agricultural exports and support food processing and rural jobs.

Canada and Mexico are our first and second largest export markets for United States food and agricultural products, totaling more than $39.7 billion food and agricultural exports in 2018. These exports support more than 325,000 American jobs.

All food and agricultural products that have zero tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will remain at zero tariffs. Since the original NAFTA did not eliminate all tariffs on agricultural trade between the United States and Canada, the USMCA will create new market access opportunities for United States exports to Canada of dairy, poultry, and eggs, and in exchange the United States will provide new access to Canada for some dairy, peanut, and a limited amount of sugar and sugar-containing products.

Earlier this year, nearly 1,000 American food and agriculture associations and companies announced their support for USMCA and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture signed a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to ratify USMCA.

In September, all former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture since President Reagan’s Administration announced support for USMCA. In a letter to Congressional leaders, former Secretaries John Block (Reagan), Mike Espy (Clinton), Dan Glickman (Clinton), Ann Veneman (W. Bush), Mike Johanns (W. Bush), Ed Shafer (W. Bush), and Tom Vilsack (Obama) underscored the importance of passing USMCA saying, “We need a strong and reliable trade deal with our top two customers for U.S. agriculture products. USMCA will provide certainty in the North American market for the U.S. farm sector and rural economy. We strongly support ratification of USMCA.”

Key Provision: Increasing Dairy Market Access
America’s dairy farmers will have expanded market opportunities in Canada for a wide variety of dairy products. Canada agreed to eliminate the unfair Class 6 and 7 milk pricing programs that allowed their farmers to undersell U.S. producers.

Key Provision: Biotechnology
For the first time, the agreement specifically addresses agricultural biotechnology – including new technologies such as gene editing – to support innovation and reduce trade-distorting policies.

Key Provision: Geographical Indications
The agreement institutes a more rigorous process for establishing geographical indicators and lays out additional factors to be considered in determining whether a term is a common name.

Key Provision: Sanitary/Phytosanitary Measures
The three countries agree to strengthen disciplines for science-based measures that protect human, animal, and plant health while improving the flow of trade.

Key Provision: Poultry and Eggs
U.S. poultry producers will have expanded access to Canada for chicken, turkey, and eggs.

Key Provision: Wheat
Canada agrees to terminate its discriminatory wheat grading system, enabling U.S. growers to be more competitive.

Key Provision: Wine and Spirits
The three countries agree to avoid technical barriers to trade through non-discrimination and transparency regarding sale, distribution, labeling, and certification of wine and distilled spirits.

###

Congress Ratifies USMCA: A Great Start to 2020 for Corn Farmers

JOHNSTON, IA – January 16, 2020 – Today Congress ratified the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) allowing for free trade with our neighboring countries to the north and the south. The bill, which passed with broad support, will now go to President Trump’s desk for his signature. Mexico and Canada are the U.S. corn industry’s largest, most reliable market. In 2018/2019, 21.4 million metric tons of corn and corn co-products were exported to Mexico and Canada. These exports were valued at $4.56 billion. In 2018/2019, Mexico was the top export for U.S. corn and DDGS while Canada was the top export of U.S. ethanol.

“The United States is set up perfectly to trade with our neighbors to the north and south of us,” said Jim Greif Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) President and farmer from Monticello. “The passage of the modernized agreement is a bright spot for corn farmers starting fresh in 2020 as exports are a key market for corn in all forms. Last year was tough for many farmers who faced an excess amount of challenges outside of our control. USMCA demonstrates the commitment for trade agreements for the United States, and ICGA will continue to work for the facilitation of free trade with partners around the world.”

ICGA extends a thank you to members and the Iowa Congressional leaders for their continued efforts to see USMCA to the finish line.

####