The sixth round of North American Free Trade Agreement talks, underway in Canada this week, could begin to tackle key agricultural issues – namely dairy tariffs, biotechnology and food safety standards, according to American Farm Bureau Federation senior director of congressional relations, Dave Salmonsen.
He says top trade officials are attending this week’s negotiations to modernize the agreement and hopefully improve on gains for U.S. agriculture, in addition to other Michigan-based industries, including automotive and manufacturing.
“If we can address how to deal with high dairy tariffs in Canada, and with some of the food safety standards issues, we hope for improvements and approvals for biotechnology,” Salmonsen said. “NAFTA has been very good for U.S. agriculture, for Canadian agriculture, for Mexican agriculture, and strong trade growth throughout the 23 years of the agreement, and we want that to continue.”
Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) National Legislative Counsel John Kran expects the negotiations to reach a critical juncture in the next few weeks. He says Michigan farmers, more than any other state, have the most to win or lose, based on NAFTA’s future.
“NAFTA has proven beneficial to Michigan agriculture since its implementation 23 years ago,” Kran said. “Canada and Mexico now account for approximately two-thirds of all Michigan agricultural exports. While there is always room for improvement, overall NAFTA has been a tremendous asset to Michigan agriculture.”
To emphasize the importance of NAFTA to Michigan agriculture, Kran says Michigan Farm Bureau has issued an “Action Alert” to members, encouraging them to take action by Fri., Feb. 9 to tell U.S. agriculture and trade officials to continue negotiations and to not withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Salmonsen is confident that trade negotiators will address issues important to agriculture and that US-trade negotiators are well-versed on agricultural concerns following extended conversations with AFBF and other agricultural organizations over the past year.
“They know what U.S. agriculture needs out of this agreement, what needs to be protected and what can be helped,” Salmonsen said. “Agriculture is a big industry in all three countries and the negotiating teams have a big appreciation for agriculture’s contributions.”
While additional NAFTA negotiation rounds are scheduled throughout the spring, Salmonsen is optimistic. “You can never predict when things are going to get wrapped up,” he said. “The big issues in this whole negotiation has been about auto parts, rules of origin, manufacturing - if those issues can be dealt with, then I think the rest of the agreement could rapidly come to a close.”