Agriculture Groups Bank on USMCA Review To Change Trade for the Better

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is due for a performance review. A joint review of the current USMCA, which came into being on July 1, 2020, will be taking place in the coming weeks. A consensus is required by July 1. If a consensual agreement should occur, it could solidify the USMCA until 2042.

With so much on the line, specialty agriculture groups are speaking up and reaching out now to lawmakers. The messaging centers on concerns over the long-term impact of low-priced imports from Mexico are having on growers.

Recently, multiple specialty agriculture organizations endorsed a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer, signed by a bipartisan group of 79 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging USTR to address specialty crop industry concerns related to imports from Mexico during the upcoming review process.

Issues highlighted within the congressional letter include:

• Growing volumes of low-priced imports from Mexico entering U.S. markets during peak domestic growing periods
• Significant competitive disadvantages tied to labor, production, regulatory and environmental compliance costs
• Ongoing economic pressure facing U.S. specialty crop growers and processors
• The long-term viability of domestic specialty crop production and continued access to high-quality, domestically grown food

Some of the specialty ag groups that signed onto the letter include Washington Red Raspberry Commission (WRRC), Florida Blueberry Growers Association, Florida Tomato Exchange, California Table Grape Commission, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Georgia Watermelon Association, and more.

“For Washington’s raspberry growers, underpriced fruit imports from Mexico represent a serious concern,” says Gavin Willis, Executive Director at WRRC. “When our growers can’t compete with imports from areas with substantially lower wage costs and reduced regulatory and environmental compliance requirements, our domestic food security is put at risk. The upcoming USMCA review provides the U.S. government an opportunity to address these issues head-on.”

Click here to read the letter in its entirety.

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