United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (Executive Session)
Madam President, I thank Senator Hoeven for getting us together for a colloquy with everybody who is concerned about this. This is what we do on the Agriculture Committee, working in a bipartisan way when we see an opportunity, and…
Madam President, I thank Senator Hoeven for getting us together for a colloquy with everybody who is concerned about this.
This is what we do on the Agriculture Committee, working in a bipartisan way when we see an opportunity, and certainly we ought to seize this opportunity.
I thank the Senator from North Dakota for leading this. He is an outstanding champion on behalf of agriculture, and he is always riding the posse, which I truly appreciate.
I also thank Senator Braun from Indiana, a new and valued member of the Ag Committee, for pointing out some of the obstacles we face. Unfortunately, they tend to be on a partisan basis. There are extraneous things that
need to be talked about, and I know Senator Portman just brought that up with his chart, but I thank him for his participation.
Senator Grassley, who is a very valued member of the Ag Committee, chairman of the Finance Committee--and obviously that is the committee of jurisdiction--who has especially pointed out, and as Senator Ernst has pointed out, the value of agriculture to Iowa and, for that matter, all of the country.
Senator Boozman, who talked about Arkansas, is a valued member of the committee as well, next to the chair in terms of seniority.
Senator Portman, as has been pointed out, is the former Trade Representative. On the chart, he simply pointed out in detail why this new agreement is far superior to NAFTA and we are working with, as Senator Grassley pointed out, working groups in the House, with our lead negotiator, and I hope that works out. I certainly hope it works out.
Senator Ernst has been an outstanding champion for farmers in Iowa and all around the country. She is on the committee and has compassion and also pointed out the need for certainty.
Now, since NAFTA was signed into law, the result has been that Canada and Mexico have been two of our strongest trading partners.
I worked on NAFTA back in the day when I was in the House and served as ranking member, and the Honorable Kika de la Garza was the chairman. We went all over the country working on NAFTA.
The result with that agreement--and every State could say the same thing, but we are talking about 110,000 jobs in Kansas. Those jobs are across all sectors of agriculture now, and many are tied to agriculture and the entire agriculture value chain. NAFTA secured greater market access for our farmers, our ranchers, our growers, everybody in between, and for our producers. Today, over one-quarter of our country's agriculture exports are destined for Canada and/or Mexico.
As with every trade agreement, there is always room for improvement. It has been pointed out by all of my colleagues that the United States- Mexico-Canada Agreement--the acronym for that is USMCA. I did suggest it could also be for United States Marine Corps Always, but that is the acronym we are using. It has modernized the trade pact we have benefited from for over 20 years. The U.S. agriculture industry desperately needs this trade agreement now to offer greater certainty and predictability regarding demand in the marketplace, certainly in predictability.
That is what we promised in the farm bill, and we passed the farm bill in this body with 87 votes. That is a record vote, based on the premise that the most important thing we do is provide certainty and predictability for our farmers and ranchers and growers.
As chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, I have heard directly, personally, as all my colleagues have, from producers and the broader agriculture industry regarding our challenging farm economy.
Every day our farmers, ranchers, and growers experience incredible challenges, including weather variability, and that is putting it mildly. I do not know what we have done to Mother Nature for her to act in this fashion.
In Kansas, the wheat harvest is a month late, and farmers still can't get in their fields up in the northwest part, but, amazingly, the yield is pretty good; the protein is staying about the same; and we have seen a little bit--a little bit--of price recovery. We need a lot more.
The uncertainty regarding the U.S. trade policy has led some of our most important trading partners to turn to our competitors. That is sadly true. At a time when the U.S. agriculture industry is facing new trade retaliation threats on top of the challenging agriculture economy, we must offer greater certainty and predictability for the farmers and ranchers across the country.
I cannot emphasize enough how serious this is. This is the fourth or fifth year that we have experienced this situation. Some farmers and ranchers who produce--not all but some--are in a desperate situation.
Congressional passage of USMCA would be--will be--should be--a pivotal step toward restoring the United States as a reliable supplier, not to mention tangible benefits.
I urge my colleagues--especially in the House--to get together with Ambassador Lighthizer and work out these concerns that have been talked about--especially by Senator Grassley--and to give fair and swift consideration to this new trade agreement. We must expand critical market access and create new trade opportunities for U.S. agriculture.
I again thank Senator Hoeven for his leadership and for sponsoring this colloquy.