North Dakota Ag Connection - N.D. Political, Ag Leaders Laud USMCA Trade Deal

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N.D. Political, Ag Leaders Laud USMCA Trade Deal
North Dakota Ag Connection - 01/17/2020

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring applauded the announcement that Congress has ratified the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The agreement passed the U.S. House on Dec. 19, 2019, and the U.S Senate Thursday on a bipartisan vote of 89-10.

"The new agreement builds on NAFTA to benefit farmers, ranchers and agribusiness," Goehring said. "It expands access for dairy, gives our wheat fair treatment in grading, and enhances rules for sanitary and phytosanitary measures."

The ratification process is complete in Mexico and Canada has indicated they will finish their ratification process now that it has been ratified in the U.S.

"With U.S. agriculture facing uncertainty in the global marketplace, the USMCA will provide a much-needed boost to producers and rural communities," Goehring said. "The new agreement ensures U.S. farmers, ranchers, and food processors can continue to access and grow exports to two of their most important global markets."

U.S. Senator John Hoeven joined the bipartisan majority to pass the USMCA.

"The final approval of USMCA is tremendous news for our nation's entire economy, especially for our agriculture producers, who are working to overcome the challenges of trade disputes and disasters," said Hoeven. "This agreement provides farmers and ranchers much-needed certainty with our two largest trading partners, helping to remove barriers and better ensure they receive fair treatment. That's why we worked promptly in the Senate to move USMCA forward, following a more than year-long delay by the House. I appreciate the efforts of my colleagues, who joined me in passing the agreement out of committee earlier this week and helped secure its timely approval in the full Senate."

According to the International Trade Commission, USMCA will increase U.S. agricultural and food exports to Canada and Mexico when fully implemented. The senator worked to ensure that the USMCA benefits North Dakota producers, including eliminating Canada's automatic downgrade of imported U.S. wheat to feed grade, which will help ensure that grading standards and services are non-discriminatory.

Additionally, USMCA makes needed modernizations on intellectual property, digital trade and financial services.

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