New trade agreement with Canada, Mexico ‘is a big deal’ for California agriculture
An agreement between Democratic congressional leaders and the Trump administration to advance a proposed trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada will mean “significant long-term economic benefits” for farmers in Fresno County and the San Joaquin Valley, a Fresno farm leader said Tuesday.
The revised U.S.-Medico-Canada Agreement replaces the old North American Free Trade Agreement that was approved in 1994. On Tuesday, both the White House and Democratic leaders said the new agreement is a significant improvement over NAFTA in how trade occurs between the three countries.
“This is a big deal for California agriculture,” said Ryan Jacobsen, CEO and executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. “Just about everything you can think of with Valley agriculture is a commodity that is popular in one or both of those countries.”
Canada is the largest importer of agricultural goods from California, while Mexico ranks fourth. Combined agriculture exports from California to the two nations totaled more than $4.3 billion in 2017-18, according to the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
USMCA was the primary focus of Vice President Mike Pence when he visited Lemoore in July to rally support for the agreement, touting it as an example of “free, fair and reciprocal trade deals that put American businesses first.”
“It’s a win for American farmers and a win for American businesses and workers,” Pence told a crowd of about 800 people at the farm of Doug and Julie Freitas. “It’s absolutely essential that we get the USMCA passed by Congress.”
Jacobsen said that while NAFTA worked well for many years for California farmers, “this will update and increase market access for many of the commodities we currently trade.”
But he lamented how much time has passed from when the Trump administration first presented a draft of USMCA to Congress and the agreement between Trump and Democratic leaders in Congress that will allow the deal to move to a vote. “It’s been over a year since the draft was circulated to Congress,” Jacobsen said. “It’s frustrating that it’s taken this long for what we consider a win-win for all three countries. We’re excited now that it’s coming to a vote.”
Republican, Democratic consensus
USMCA “will be the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA. Good for everybody – Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions – tremendous support,” President Trump said via Twitter on Tuesday. “Importantly, we will finally end our Country’s worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!”
Democrats, in the meantime, hailed changes that were negotiated to attract support from labor unions after Trump initially unveiled the deal. “There is no question of course that this trade agreement is much better than NAFTA,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, when she announced the agreement with the Trump administration. She added that the pact is “infinitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration.”
In agitating for Pelosi and other leaders to allow a vote on the trade deal, Pence spoke in Lemoore of International Trade Commission data that he said supports the White House belief that USMCA will add 176,000 jobs in the U.S. And, he added, “according to conservative estimates, American exports to Canada will increase by $19 billion, and exports to Mexico are going to increase by $14 billion.”
USMCA would also spur a $2.2 billion increase in exports of American food and agriculture, Pence said. That would amount to an increase of about 5.6% from the combined $39.1 billion in agricultural exports from the U.S. to Canada and Mexico in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The House of Representatives could vote on the deal before Congress adjourns for the year; the Senate would likely vote in January or February.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 1:10 PM.
