U.S. farmers are waiting for passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement and the economic boost it will provide.
Mexico is the first of the three nations in the USMCA to ratify the agreement.
Dave Salmonsen, senior director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau, says ratification shows America’s neighbors are taking the agreement seriously.
"It’s a good sign to our Congress that it can get done," says Salmonsen. "Mexico wants this to get done and they’re willing to do some hard things. Changes to their labor laws was a big reform for them, there is opposition to that, but they went ahead and they’re doing it, so I think that’s a sign that USMCA is something that the U.S. needs to get done."
Salmonsen says Canada is also making progress toward ratifying the agreement. Canadian members of parliament introduced the measure before the session ended because of upcoming national elections. Lawmakers can be called back at any time to pass the agreement.
" It’s not really a question of them with passing, it’s more a question of when they’re going to pass it," he says.
Learn more from this recent podcast on the USMCA from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).
