January 29, 2020 - Arlington, VA - The North American Millers' Association (NAMA) is thrilled to announce that President Trump has signed the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) during a ceremony at the White House today.
The United States, Mexico, and Canada concluded negotiations for a modernized and rebalanced trade agreement in September, 2018 and a deal was reached by House Democrats and the Trump administration on an adapted trade pact in December.
NAMA has been an ardent advocate for swift ratification of the agreement.
“NAMA applauds the ratification of the new North American trade pact. USMCA has been a top legislative priority for NAMA, and we are delighted to see this significant bipartisan accomplishment come to fruition.
"USMCA will benefit millers, farmers, and consumers, and we look forward to working with our members and allied food and agriculture industry organizations to ensure the timely implementation of the trade deal.” said Jim McCarthy, President & CEO.
“This improved trade deal with Canada and Mexico provides reassurance for millers and the broader U.S. food and agricultural industries.”
USMCA essentially keeps in place zero tariffs on virtually all agricultural trade between the three countries in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Canada and Mexico are the two largest trading partners of the United States and the first and third largest exports markets for U.S. food and agricultural products, making up, “28 percent of total food and agricultural exports in 2017, and supporting more than 325,000 American jobs,” according to the United States Trade Representative’s Office.
Now ratified in the U.S., NAMA expects Canada to ratify the agreement by April at which point implementation of the deal will begin.
NAMA will continue to work with allied industry organizations to ensure a smooth implementation of the USMCA.
For more information, please contact Chris Clark at 202-484-5621 or cclark@namamillers.org