Trade Deals with Darci Vetter Pt 1

Trade Deals with Darci Vetter Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. Getting trade deals done is still a top-of-mind matter for the U.S. ag industry.

And, while speaking at the American Banker’s Association Ag Bankers conference, former Chief Ag Trade Negotiator for the U.S., Darci Vetter gave her update on the USMCA …

VETTER … “What I hear is that the White House and the House Democrats continue to make progress on how to make sure that the labor provisions of the agreement are enforceable, that good progress has already been made on environment and pharmaceuticals, and there is a small window but still a workable window to try and move that through Congress.”

In the near-term, Vetter says it could happen soon …

VETTER … “But, I think that our expectations of what it means for a deal should be tempered a little bit. I hope we can get to sort of a cease fire or a truce that says we won’t keep escalating those tariffs and that seems to be on the table.”

But, she says, both sides still need to agree …

VETTER … “There may be provisions to roll back some of the tariffs that had been implemented. I think you hear the White House and China disagreeing on how much rolling back there actually might be, but it does sound like some agreement is being made, not just on ag purchases, which are important as a one off, but on ag reform that might allow future purchases to happen more easily.”

Vetter says there are a number of things on the list, where it would be great to see some reform, that she hopes make it into the interim deal as well.

Listen tomorrow for more.

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