NW Hort Council USMCA Reaction Pt 2

NW Hort Council USMCA Reaction Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. The USMCA has been signed by the President and now anticipates swift ratification in Canada before becoming official.

Mark Powers, president of the Northwest Horticultural Council, says the biggest, but not only, thing the USMCA brings is certainty …

POWERS … “The other benefits are really in the rules of sanitary and phytosanitary chapters and technical barriers to trade. That’s plant health, I guess, to put a finer point on it, food safety, those kinds of things.”

So, were there any really big changes from NAFTA? …

POWERS … “I think, in general, I would say really modest, but we didn’t need a lot of changes. What we were seeking to do was preserve the preferential and perfect access that we currently have and maintaining those markets and certainties where we sell so much of our fruit.”

And, Powers says this should give the U.S. some momentum in trade talks with other markets …

POWERS … “I certainly hope so, and I think that’s the case. I mean, there was some concern on the part of many that, you know, if we couldn’t get an agreement done with our major trading partners, Mexico and Canada, you know, what kind of a signal does that send to other countries around the world that we need to work out more trade agreements with. And, I think wrapping this up, taking care of it, sends the right signal.”

Powers says other priority markets he hopes to see trade agreements with soon include China, India, Viet Nam and Thailand, among others.

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