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New trade agreement reached
U.S., Canada and Mexico agree to a new trade agreement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA, to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
October 1, 2018 By Top Crop Manager
The new agreement preserves the trade dispute settlement mechanism, allows the U.S. more access to Canada’s domestic dairy market, safeguards Canadian auto plants, but does not resolve issues over U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum tariffs. Read more about what the new agreement means for Canada.
For Canada’s wheat and barley farmers, this news is significant. Together, the U.S. and Mexico account for roughly 15 per cent of total Canadian wheat exports, according to a release by the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions. The U.S. is Canada’s largest export market for wheat, and second largest export market for barley. The new agreement preserves access for Canadian wheat and barley to the U.S. and Mexico markets.
The commissions look forward to reviewing the full details of the agreement which includes retention of the Chapter 19 dispute settlement mechanism and measures to address U.S. concerns over grading of U.S. wheat in Canada.
A full fact sheet detailing the agriculture market access and dairy outcomes of the USMC agreement is available through the Office of the United States Trade Representative. the fact sheet explains the details related to increasing dairy milk access and expanding poultry and eggs market access.
