A bipartisan group of Senators sent a letter this week to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, asking the administration to collect a “robust economic analysis” to evaluate how changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would affect agriculture. The letter says, “It’s imperative that before any changes are made to NAFTA or any other free trade agreement, that economic …
NAFTA Negotiators Focusing on Cars and Finances
Agriculture will not be a big focus in the current round of talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Bloomberg says negotiators will focus this round on regional content rules for products like cars, as well as financial services. One of the most contentious proposals from the U.S. deals with rules-of-origin for cars. Those rules determine how much …
U.S. Chamber Says NAFTA Withdrawal Will Hurt States
Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Texas, and Missouri could all suffer the most severe hits to their economies if President Trump decides to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Politico says the U.S. Chamber of Commerce listed 12 states that it says will be hit hardest by NAFTA withdrawal. John Murphy, senior vice president of international policy …
Ag Coalition Stressing Importance of NAFTA
A coalition of agriculture groups is stressing the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to state governors. The coalition representing more than 100 agriculture groups is asking the governors to let President Trump know that they “support a modernized NAFTA that maintains and enhances food and agricultural trade,” according to the Hagstrom Report. The letter comes as …
McKinney Visit to India Good for U.S. Pork
The National Pork Producers Council says the recent trip to India by Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Affairs Ted McKinney bodes well for future pork exports. The trip, aimed at increasing U.S. agricultural export levels for India, allowed McKinney to press the nation to open access to U.S. pork. NPPC has been working for many years to …
Perdue: NAFTA Renegotiation to Benefit Agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the purpose of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement is to help the entire U.S. economy, including agriculture. Speaking recently to agricultural journalist, Perdue offered these comments regarding NAFTA. Additionally, Purdue says the Administration favors bilateral trade agreements. In the end, he says, is that the U.S. is looking for simple, fair reciprocity. From the …
Ten Things Canada Wants From NAFTA Modernization
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations get going again in Mexico City on November 15. While the contentious issues like dairy supply management get a lot of headlines, there are quite a few items the countries do agree on. Shaun Haney covers Canadian agriculture for the website Real Agriculture Dot Com. He tells Farm Journal’s Ag Web Dot Com …
NAFTA Withdrawal Contingency Plans
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says he’s in the process of drawing up contingency plans for the agriculture industry, in case the U.S. withdraws from the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Washington Examiner says those comments come just days ahead of the fifth round of talks between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. There hasn’t been a lot of measurable progress …
TPP Deal Expected This Week
The remaining 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries plan to remove the Gross Domestic Product requirements to allow the deal to move forward without the United States this week. The Japan News reports that with the United States abandoning the accord, negotiators appear hopeful that changing the conditions will allow the remaining 11 nations to quickly implement a new pact. A …
NAFTA Withdrawal Would Not Lower Deficit With Mexico
President Trump often cited withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a way to reduce America’s trade deficit with Mexico. However, a Forbes Dot Com article says that isn’t the way it works. If the U.S. should no longer be involved in NAFTA, all three countries revert to Most Favored Nation trade status under the World Trade …