President Trump today officially notified Congress of his
administration’s intent to initiate negotiations with Canada and Mexico
to update the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
and meat industry groups were quick to call for preserving those
components of the deal that have been a boon to their
constituents.Getting right to the point, the National Pork Producers
Council in a statement urged the president to make sure that tariffs
remain at zero for pork traded in North America. U.S. pork exports to
Canada and Mexico last year were almost $799 million and nearly $1.4
billion, respectively.“Canada and Mexico are top pork export markets. We
absolutely must not have any disruptions in exports to our No. 2
(Mexico) and No. 4 (Canada) markets,” said NPPC President Ken
Maschhoff.Similarly, the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association urged Trump and his counterparts in Canada and Mexico to not
“jeopardize” NAFTA’s rewards. “Recent statements about the possible
dissolution of NAFTA or potential renegotiation of NAFTA are deeply
concerning to us because of the unnecessary risk it places on our
producers,” the letter states. “While there may be general agreement
among the countries to improve some parts of the NAFTA trade framework,
we urge you to recognize that the terms of the agreement affecting
cattle producers are strongly supported as they currently exist and
should not be altered.”Since NAFTA was signed into law in December 1993,
exports of American-produced beef to Mexico have grown by more than 750
percent, NCBA President Craig Uden said, citing U.S. Meat Export
Federation data. He added that exports now account for as much as 13
percent of overall U.S. beef production — "and it's more likely to be
higher-quality cuts that bring in higher revenues for the hundreds of
thousands of American families in the beef community.”Trump’s
notification begins a 90-day period in which the president’s trade team
and Congress must deliberate on objectives of the negotiations. Thirty
days before talks begin, the administration is required to make public a
“detailed and comprehensive summary of the specific objectives.”Since
NAFTA went into effect Jan. 1, 1994, U.S. trade north and south of the
borders has more than tripled, growing more rapidly than U.S. trade with
the rest of the world. Canada and Mexico are the two largest
destinations for U.S. goods and services, accounting for more than
one-third of total U.S. exports, adding $80 billion to the U.S. economy
and supporting more than 3 million American jobs, according to data from
the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. In fact, U.S.
manufacturing exports to Canada and Mexico have increased nearly 260
percent over the past 23 years, and U.S. farm exports to the countries
have grown by more than 150 percent.
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