Statement by Steve Nelson, President, Regarding U.S., Mexico, Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA)
LINCOLN, NEB. – “The announcement that the U.S., Mexico, and Canada have come to terms on a new and improved free-trade agreement is a major ‘win’ for Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers and an important step forward in helping eliminate trade related uncertainty in agricultural markets.”
“Mexico and Canada are Nebraska’s two largest customers for agricultural goods. This new deal not only maintains the positive market access system for our major commodities in Nebraska, but also sweetens the pot by addressing many concerns for our dairy producers, including improved market access.”
“Exports of Nebraska agricultural goods to these two countries exceeded $2.9 billion in 2016 and accounted for 45 percent of Nebraska’s total agricultural exports that year. Mexico and Canada are major customers for Nebraska beef and Mexico has been a top customer for Nebraska corn, and the second-largest customer for Nebraska soybeans and wheat. These countries are also major importers of ethanol and distillers dried grains from Nebraska.”
“Any way you slice it, Mexico and Canada are critically important customers for Nebraska agriculture. We applaud the President for his work to get the U.S., Mexico, Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) done. This is more positive news following the signing of an updated free trade deal with South Korea (KORUS), and news that the U.S. is in negotiations on a new bilateral deal with Japan, and in talks with the European Union. While there is still much work to be done with China, these actions have us on the right path to providing access for Nebraska agriculture commodities to global customers who are critical to Nebraska farm and ranch families. We look forward to continuing to work with this administration to grow market access for our products around the globe and with Congress to assure passage of the USMCA.”
The Nebraska Farm Bureau is grassroots, state-wide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service and advocacy efforts. More than 61,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraska’s economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit www.nefb.org.
