More than 100 members of the United States Congress asked Jamieson Greer, that country’s trade representative, not to harm the agricultural sector in the review of the 2026 USMCA.
In a letter, US legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, expressed their support for the agreement to continue – they consider that the trilateral treaty has not yet reached its maximum potential – due to its positive impact and benefits for the nation’s agriculture. Although they recognized that Donald Trump’s administration has priorities in reviewing the USMCA, they asked Greer to take into account that Mexico and Canada are the destination of more than a third of primary sector exports.
“Any modification to the treaty must be carefully examined to ensure that American agriculture is not harmed,” they stressed.
The congressmen, related to the primary sectors, also requested that the current terms be fully applied to address the few barriers that still affect US agriculture, such as the case of dairy with Canada. Although they did not mention any disagreement about the provisions that Mexico has on transgenic corn.
They recalled that the United States is the largest agricultural exporter in the world, with a total of 176 billion dollars in 2024.
Producers require certainty now more than ever
In that sense, they noted that the sector’s exports have increased significantly since the implementation of the T-MEC, with an increase of 10.7 billion dollars in exports to Mexico and 7.6 billion dollars to Canada.
“This treaty offers great benefits to our constituents, including farmers, ranchers, producers, cultivators, grain handlers, exporters and the rural economy in general,” they noted.
In the letter, the legislators commented that the USMCA facilitates agricultural trade by simplifying measures and harmonizing regulations, benefiting American farmers, producers and ranchers. In addition, they added that regulations on sanitary measures, biotechnology, intellectual property and technical barriers provide certainty and access to markets.
They specified that “these rules-based, science-driven commitments set a strong example for other trading partners hoping to achieve similar access to the US market.”
They considered that the T-MEC was a historic agreement for US agriculture when it came into force. However, they also mentioned that its positive impact on their country’s agriculture “has not yet reached its maximum potential.”
They stressed that “at a time when economic challenges threaten the livelihood of family farms, producers need the certainty that the T-MEC provides more than ever.”