Ag coalition sends Trump a letter on USMCA 

The Agriculture Coalition for USMCA today sent President Trump a lettrer signed by 2,376 farmers from across the country, urging renewal of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement with targeted improvements.

“The USMCA is foundational to American food and agriculture’s success, providing expanded cross-border rail traffic, long-term policy certainty, and greater supply chain predictability for American producers — and this agreement delivers for American consumers, too,” the letter said. 

Under the agreement, the United States, Mexico and Canada are scheduled to begin a formal review of the agreement on July 1. The review is supposed to result in an agreement among the three countries this calendar year to extend the agreement for 16 years.

If the leaders fail to agree, the three countries would meet annually to consider renewal each year until the agreement expires in 2036. 

Trump negotiated the USMCA as an improvement on the North American Free Trade Agreement but this year has said he no longer thinks it is important. 

The Center for Strategic and International Studies held a conference last week on the USMCA.

The conference was supported by the Corn Refiners Association, Drsicoll’s, the National Corn Growers Association, and the National Milk Producers Federation & the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

Darci Vetter, a former U.S. chief agriculture trade negotiator now with Driscoll’s, noted at CSIS that agricultural investment relies on certainty, and the USMCA provides certainty in Mexico, Canada and the United States.