McKinney: USMCA Is Better Than We Expected

When time came to update NAFTA, which eventually led to the USMCA, the philosophy of the USDA was "Do No Harm".  However, if you as USDA's Ted McKinney, he'll tell you the updated deal went well beyond that, noting things improved greatly for the dairy and wheat sectors, and that's just the start.

"We've got a brand-new chapter on biotechnology," McKinney noted.  "The first one in the history of the world, on a free trade agreement."

And after that?

"Sanitary fight of sanitary chapters, or language, is probably the most abused and used by many countries to hide behind something they feel they can defend to the WTO, or in a bilateral discussion," McKinney continued.  "It's been rewritten in USMCA."

If you have a story idea for the Washington Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekradio.com