Farm Bureau optimistic about new trade agreement

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) recently said it is cautiously optimistic about the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement and hopes it will benefit farm families nationwide.

“One of the major points we stressed during the negotiations between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, was for trade representatives to keep in place existing NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] provisions that benefit agriculture and to work to resolve several contentious issues, including dairy disputes with Canada,” PFB President Rick Ebert said. “We are pleased that the new agreement provides new market access for dairy and poultry products while maintaining the zero-tariff platform on all other agricultural products.”

USMCA eliminates Canada’s Class 7 dairy pricing program, which American farmers say undercuts U.S. sales of dried milk and high-protein milk products. Instead, American dairy farmers would be able to export dairy products without tariffs until products equal to 3.6 percent of Canada’s domestic production.

Nearly 60 percent of all agriculture exports from Pennsylvania are sold to Canada and Mexico, Ebert said.

USMCA must be signed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, and President Donald Trump, and must be approved by the three countries’ legislative bodies.

It is expected to go into effect in early to mid-2019.