The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), was recently announced and if ratified, will replace the 24-year-old NAFTA. 

The agreement is expected to be signed by the three nations by the end of November, but it still needs to be ratified by Congress and it also does not yet result in the lifting of the retaliatory tariffs Canada and Mexico imposed on U.S. products, including many agricultural commodities, as a result of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

“We’re happy to see the announcement of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), because it allows our farmers and ranchers to compete on a more even playing field –especially in the dairy sector,” said Ron Gibson, President of the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. “Agriculture is heavily dependent on trade, and we want to preserve the good relationship we’ve had with our North American neighbors. This deal just makes things better.”

“This will benefit farm families in Utah, even those who don’t trade directly to Mexico and Canada, because it allows local food to stay here at competitive prices farmers and ranchers in Utah have faced hard times because of depressed agricultural prices, the impacts of our on-going drought, and now the devastating wildfires. This is welcomed news indeed.” 

American Farm Bureau Federation officials said the new trade agreement not only locks in existing market opportunities with Mexico and Canada, but it builds on those trade relationships in a number of key areas. 

“Trade is critical to agriculture, especially trade with our two closest neighbors,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “The USMCA builds on the success our farmers and ranchers have seen from NAFTA.”

“We are appreciative of the work done by the Trump administration and our trade negotiators, and look forward to improving other pending trade negotiations — including reducing the impact from tariffs,” Gibson said. “Farm and ranch families simply want access to fair trading markets, and look forward to providing safe and quality food to families around the world.”

For more analysis of the USMCA, please click HERE.