The United States-Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) is officially the law of the land, replacing the 25 year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Today’s action is the culmination of nearly two years of negotiations and ratification between the three countries. Following the initial signing November 30, 2018, the United States ratified USMCA on January 29, 2020, followed by Canada on March 13 and Mexico on April 3.
NCGA endorsed USMCA at Commodity Classic 2019 and declared the trade deal the organization’s top legislative priority for the year. Corn farmers submitted over 1300 comments in support of USMCA.
Mexico and Canada are the U.S. corn industry’s largest, most reliable market. Since NAFTA, U.S. ag exports have tripled to Canada and quintupled to Mexico. In 2018, 21.4 million metric tons of corn and corn co-products, valued at $4.56 billion, were exported to Mexico and Canada. Mexico is the top buyer of U.S. corn and DDGs.
These exports have a significant economic impact, producing $5.79 billion in economic activity, supporting 36,480 jobs and 300,000 farms. USMCA is a big win for America’s farmers, rural communities, and the American economy as a whole.
NCGA thanks the Trump Administration, members of Congress, leaders in Mexico and Canada, and corn farmers across the country for their commitment to seeing USMCA enter into force.
USMCA can serve as a template for future trade agreements and NCGA will continue to advocate for new trade agreements that offer new growth opportunities for U.S. corn and corn products.
