USMCA Just Entered Its Renewal Window And Farm Country Is Watchin

USMCA, which was negotiated during the first Trump administration, officially entered its six-year renewal period on Wednesday July 1st. Virginia Houston, senior director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the trade agreement is incredibly important for North American agriculture and industry.

"USTR now said they have not agreed to renew it, so we have entered into an annual review process with Canada and Mexico for up to the next ten years,” she said.

Going The Bilateral Route?

Houston added there is still plenty of work to do, but progress is being made.

"Currently, the U.S. and Mexico are in bilateral negotiations on trade irritants around USMCA," Houston said. "Canada is being slower to join the party, but we do know that their government wants to be engaged and is also committed to keeping USMCA in place, as is Mexico, which is so important for U.S. agriculture."

She added the review process was outlined when the USMCA agreement was initially signed

“When NAFTA, which is the predecessor to USMCA, was renegotiated, it included a novel review clause that said that after six years after entry into force, all three countries had to come together to agree if they wanted the agreement to renew. If they did not come to agreement, it would kick off an annual review process, which is what we're in right now,” Houston continued.

The Trump administration announced it would not approve renewal of the agreement in its current state, as the U.S. looks to reshore manufacturing jobs and cut down on ag trade deficits with its neighbors in North America.

Don't Rush The USMCA Renewal

“Getting USMCA right matters enormously to our industry, which ships more than 40 percent of all U.S. dairy exports by value to Canada and Mexico,” said U.S. Dairy Export Council Vice President Shawna Morris.

”While we would have liked to see immediate renewal, pork producers appreciate Ambassador Greer’s commitment to staying at the negotiating table with Mexico and Canada,” the National Pork Producers Council said in a statement.

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