Ag Community Eagerly Awaits USMCA’s New Benefits

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that just took effect this week will give a desperately-needed boost to farm income, but lawmakers and Ag leaders say enforcement of the trade deal is key. USMCA could boost producers’ bottom line by more than $2 billion at a time when Farm Bureau estimates Covid-19 has cratered ag revenue by more than $50 billion. The deal may be worth more than $300 million a year in dairy exports alone, along with added hundreds of millions for beef, pork, corn, soybeans and wheat.

However, Canada is already proposing tariff-rate quota allocations counter to its USMCA commitments, and Mexico has stopped approving biotech traits for U.S. firms. House Ag Chairman Collin Peterson says enforcement of the deal will be key…

Other ag lawmakers are optimistic that USMCA will lead to more agreements that are welcoming to farmers. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst…

Among potential new trade deal partners are Kenya, India, the EU, and the United Kingdom. Others include a second Japan deal, a long-considered Taiwan Free Trade Agreement, and even reconsideration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, with every export dollar now ever-more important in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic.