Strain: Passage of USMCA is Critical for Louisiana Agriculture

By Mike Strain, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture & Forestry

The U.S.-Mexico- Canada Agreement (USMCA) will modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which has been in place for more than 25 years. I’m pleased that Canada and Mexico have taken this important step in the right direction toward fair trade and increased market access for American farmers and ranchers. The deal includes key provisions that increase markets for U.S. rice, wheat, dairy, poultry, eggs and many other agricultural products. Currently, 27% of all U.S. exports go to Canada and Mexico. Of the U.S agricultural goods exported to Free Trade Agreement partners in 2018, 34% went to Canada and 30% to Mexico.

According to an independent analysis of the U.S. International Trade Commission, full implementation of the USMCA would increase U.S. agricultural exports by $2.2 billion. For Louisiana, the stakes could not be higher. The rebalancing and modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement creating a 21st century trade deal will mean far greater access to markets and increased commerce for all workers, farmers, ranchers, fishers and businesses through mutually beneficial, equitable, and robust trade. Further, this agreement will modernize sanitary and phytosanitary measures by establishing new and enforceable rules to ensure that these measures are science-based and implemented in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner rather than used to inhibit trade on selected commodities based on market conditions.

Louisiana exported goods valued at more than $3.57 billion to Canada and $9.22 billion to Mexico in 2018. The top Louisiana export products to Canada and Mexico include $4.9 billion in petroleum and coal products, $2 billion in chemicals, $1.2 billion in agricultural products, and $720 million in oil and gas. Rice is one of Louisiana’s largest crops. More than one-third of the total rice crop grown in the U.S. is exported to Mexico, accounting for more than 900,000 metric tons. Additionally, Mexico imports significant amounts of poultry and eggs, corn, soybeans, and cotton from Louisiana and the U.S. Furthermore, the USMCA agreement protects our intellectual property including biotechnology. It levels the playing field for the grading of commodities and guarantees access to once protected markets. From its inception in 1993 to 2018, NAFTA helped quadruple U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico from $8.9 billion to more than $43.7 billion.

The new and improved USMCA agreement will build from this point and further accelerate economic growth. Every $1 billion in U.S. agricultural exports supports approximately 7,550 American jobs. Trade with Canada and Mexico supports more than 286,900 agricultural jobs in the U.S and accounts for more than 9,000 jobs in Louisiana. Another key provision includes a labor chapter to ensure that the agreement benefits American workers. The U.S., Canada and Mexico have agreed on a labor chapter that brings labor obligations into the core of the agreement and makes them fully enforceable. This agreement also includes measures to prohibit the export of goods produced by forced labor and has the strongest provisions of any trade agreement in the protection of labor rights. Mexico has agreed to these terms and has already ratified the USMCA agreement. Additionally, the U.S., Canada and Mexico have agreed to the most advanced, most comprehensive, and highest-standard chapter on the environment of any trade agreement. I am hopeful the USMCA deal will also fuel a renewed effort to improve trade tensions with China, a major agricultural market for Louisiana behind Canada and Mexico. I sincerely urge the U.S. Congress to ratify the USMCA which would eliminate tariffs on more than 200 American products and provide a new and improved avenue for trade and economic growth.

Mike Strain, DVM Commissioner Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (225) 922-1233