AFBF Convention Attendees Get Inside Track on USMCA Review Process

Smith: The U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will soon be up for review between the three North American neighbors. Dave Salmonsen, senior director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau, shared up-to-date information on the review process during a Convention workshop in San Antonio, Texas.

Salmonsen: There is a built-in review process to make sure that the agreement is living up to what the three countries want it to. So, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, each country will start thinking about it this year, defining their goals, and really deciding is this merely a review, look at some tweaks, how is it working, or is this going to be a real negotiation? Are there real big substantive issues that need to be changed and renegotiated?

Smith: He says the three countries will likely have many topics to discuss during the process.

Salmonsen: I think the way things have developed, different issues, a lot of things have happened, especially in U.S.-Mexico relations. We have a lot of growing concerns about country of origin for auto parts and autos. Of course, we also have several agricultural issues that are continuing.

Smith: Salmonsen says it's important to keep an eye on the outside factors that may influence the process.

Salmonsen: President Trump has issued an executive order called the America First Trade Policy, and it's really a direction for all federal agencies to look at a variety of trade issues, but specifically on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. So there certainly is an opportunity and a potential that all this discussion about USMCA may not wait till 2026.

Smith: AFBF Convention continues through Wednesday. Chad Smith, Washington.