Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Wednesday proclaimed, “Today is a good day for American agriculture,” referring to President Donald Trump’s signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Perdue says USMCA”shows the rest of the world the United States is open for business,” adding the agreement is critical for U.S. farmers and ranchers.
Canada and Mexico are the first and second-largest export markets for United States food and agricultural products, totaling more than $39.7 billion in farm exports in 2018.
Those exports, according to the Department of Agriculture, support more than 325,000 American jobs.
All food and agricultural products that have zero tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement will remain at zero tariffs.
Key provisions, Perdue says, include increasing dairy market access, along with updates to biotechnology rules, geographical indications, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and increased market access for poultry, eggs and wheat, along with agreements to avoid technical trade barriers for wine and spirits.
