"US agri-food industry a loser in NAFTA renegotiation"
In a release Wednesday from Agri-Food Economic Systems, policy note co-author Al Mussell noted that Canada is not only the leading foreign source of bulk and intermediate product for agri-food processing in the U.S., but it is also the largest export market for the U.S. when those fully processed foods are turned around and sold again to consumers.
“This is indicative of a refined two-way trading relationship that has developed among NAFTA partners in agri-food, responsible for about $US 88 billion in U.S. economic activity and almost 300,000 U.S. jobs,” Mussell said.
As such, Mussell said the U.S. would put plenty at risk if it decides to go ahead and renegotiate the NAFTA deal with Canada and Mexico. Such a renegotiation has been suggested by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he does not believe the U.S. is benefiting from the NAFTA deal as much as it should.
The threat to the U.S. from Mexico in NAFTA is the potential for reduced access to imports of fruits and vegetables that benefit from Mexican labour. This workforce is scarce in the U.S., and poised to become further limited due to proposed changes in U.S. immigration policy, the note said.
“The evidence does not support US agri-food as victim of NAFTA, and the U.S. actually has much to lose in a NAFTA renegotiation,” Mussell said. “Understanding what is at stake will condition the negotiating positions of Canada and Mexico in agri-food, and should give pause to the U.S. in its pursuit of NAFTA renegotiation”.
The Independent Agri-Food Policy Note can be accessed at www.agrifoodecon.ca
Source: Syngenta Canada