Trade

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, is expected to be introduced in the U.S. Congress during the first or second quarter of 2019. Under the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) law, which requires Congress to approve or reject a trade accord without amendment, President Donald Trump may sign the USMCA after 60 days, or on Nov. 29. Following this, 60 days are provided for legal review and 105 days for the completion of an economic impact study by the U.S. ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President The NGFA and North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA) commended the Trump administration and its counterparts in Mexico and Canada for reaching a trilateral trade agreement, which the nations announced late Sept. 30. Read more (member log-in required). ... Read More

President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in conducted a signing ceremony for a new U.S.-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) following a Sept. 24 bilateral meeting at the United Nations. “I think our farmers are going to be extremely happy, it was very limited as to what they could do and what they could send and now it’s an open market and they're going to be sending a lot more farm products,” Trump said. In fact, the new trade accord results in no significant changes to previous market access for U.S. agricultural products to South Korea’s ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The United States and Japan have agreed to start negotiations on a trade agreement, fulfilling President Donald Trump’s preference to negotiate a bilateral deal after withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Trump and Japan Prime Minister Shinzō Abe met in New York on Sept. 26 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting. “We reaffirmed our determination to further expand trade and investment between the United States and Japan in a mutually beneficial manner, including through further concrete steps, as ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The Trump administration indicated this week it may send Congress a revised U.S.-Mexico trade deal that does not include Canada by Oct. 1, in an attempt to give U.S. lawmakers the required 60 days to review the text and ensure it is signed before current Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto leaves office on Dec. 1. “If we can’t get an agreement with Canada, we’re clearly not going to walk away from one with Mexico,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Tuesday (Sept. 25) in New York City. “Canada is not making ... Read More

After two solid days of extensive ministerial-level meetings between Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer, Freeland returned to Canada Thursday night (Sept. 20) without reaching a breakthrough that would enable Canada to join the trade accord negotiated between the United States and Mexico. Departing following a four-hour meeting with Lighthizer, Freeland said the two trade officials had discussed “some tough issues.”  It was reported that one accompanying Canadian government official said the reference to “tough ... Read More

The NGFA and North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA) stressed the importance of completing trade negotiations and gaining access to new markets in a joint statement submitted this week to the Senate Agriculture Committee following its Sept. 13 hearing concerning perspectives on U.S. agricultural trade. “While U.S. agriculture still is strong, our lead is diminishing,” the NGFA and NAEGA wrote. “Other countries have advanced their agricultural industries and now rival our own. Competition for world agricultural markets has increased significantly and for U.S. agriculture to compete ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The Senate Agriculture Committee met on Sept. 13 with representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to discuss their concerns about U.S. agricultural trade and the Trump administration’s tariff strategy. Witnesses included USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator Gregg Doud; Agriculture Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney; and USDA Chief Economist Rob Johansson. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., ... Read More

By Max Fisher, Director of Economics and Government Relations The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released the methodology it used to set payment levels for the trade mitigation package announced Sept. 4. In the release issued Sept. 13, USDA said its Office of the Chief Economist developed an estimate of gross trade damages for commodities with assessed retaliatory tariffs by Canada, China, the European Union, Mexico and Turkey to set commodity payment rates and purchase levels in the trade mitigation package. “We have pledged to be transparent about this process and how ... Read More