U.S. agriculture applauds NAFTA replacement

Some U.S. commodities will gain additional access to Canadian markets, and others will retain existing zero-tariff access to Canada and Mexico. The trilateral agreement barely came in under a midnight deadline imposed by the U.S., at which point the U.S. would have moved forward with the trade deal reached with Mexico a month earlier.The renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement will move ahead as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.A major sticking point with Canada was granting more access to U.S. dairy products and the elimination of Canada’s Class 7 milk-ingredient pricing program implemented last year.That program artificially lowered prices for Canada’s domestic milk ingredients for domestic processors to discourage the purchase of U.S. ingredients. It also undercut competitors’ dairy product prices in the international market, according to the U.S. and other dairy-exporting countries.The agreement also gives additional access to Canadian markets to U.S. poultry and eggs and addresses issues with Canada’s grain-grading system. For other commodities, it was a matter of safeguarding existing market access.“However, the true measure of success will be when U.S. markets regain full trading status, and that is why FFT will continue to urge the immediate removal of tariffs, she said.Americans for Farmers and Families said the significance of the agreement cannot be overstated.NAFTA “has brought unprecedented economic success to the U.S. — not only through strong job growth, higher wages and low consumer prices — but also by allowing America’s food and agricultural industry to thrive,” Casey Guemsey, an AFF spokesman, said.