Ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) remains a key issue for the U.S. ag sector, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall stressed in a July 24 column.
Approval of the trade pact, which updates the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), would be an important signal to other trade partners, Duvall wrote. "Approval would set off a positive domino effect of successful trade negotiations and agreements around the world," he argued, noting the continued push to ink new trade deals with partners like "China, Japan, the European Union, Great Britain and potentially other nations and regions."
Duvall suggested that ratifying USMCA would push those other partners "to belly up to the negotiating table, and go back to their farmers, industries and legislative bodies with a message of determination to make the compromises necessary to secure a deal with the world’s largest economy."
As lawmakers return to their districts for the August recess, Duvall urged producers to make their views on USMCA clear. "We have the opportunity ??? the imperative ??? to send those members of Congress back to Washington in early September with the backbone to do the right thing for agriculture and the economy," he argued.
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