Many of us were expecting another round of tariffs with Mexico to kick in today, but it was announced over the weekend that a dealhad been reached between the U.S. and Mexico which stopped imposing new tariffs. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) leaders had said it was time to end the tariff fights and get back to securing trade deals. AFBF trade chief Dave Salmonsen says the ground has been laid to ratify the lucrative new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA).
“We just finished a few weeks ago, from the impacts of retaliatory tariffs, by Mexico and Canada, for the steel and aluminum tariffs the US put on them. And we know the impacts that had on our dairy, pork, apples and other products, that were subject to higher tariffs going into Mexico…and now those are off…we just got done with that…we don’t want to start that up, again.”
Salmonsen says Farm Bureau will continue to keep its eye on the bigger trade prize.
“We want to encourage the administration and the Congress…of course, the two other countries…to move to an end to this, and get this done.”
Trade disputes have cost U.S. agriculture billions, with only partial relief from administration tariff rescue payments.