Perdue Hosts Mexico and Canada Agriculture Leader in His Home State

Secretary Perdue, Canada’s Trade Minister MacAulay and Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture Calzada at the Savannah, Georgia port.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue hosted his counterparts from Mexico and Canada in an event held in Savannah, Georgia, where they toured the Georgia Ports Authority and took a farm tour, and to participate in a series of meetings preparing for the upcoming renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

There is a lot of uncertainty as to what renegotiations to NAFTA will look like and what it will mean for U.S. agriculture. The diplomats addressed the fact that growers from the U.S., Canada and Mexico have concerns about possible changes to the trade agreement. However, the overarching theme of these meetings seemed to be focused on building steady relationships and trust between the three countries.

The diplomats released the following statement about their visit to Georgia: “Our visit to Georgia fostered the mutual understanding and personal relationships that will help North American agriculture thrive, improve our regional partnership and collaboration, and strengthen our trading relationship.”

Although NAFTA has had a positive impact on much of the U.S. agriculture industry, some growers have suffered especially in the southeast. Perdue discussed this issue, hear the audio here.