Late last week, Canada?s parliament ratified the United States ? Mexico ? Canada Agreement. With all three countries approving the trade pact, it is now time for implementation. Many trade groups are chomping at the bit for this to get done, so trade can get back to a normal pace. One of these groups is the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
The Canadian government was able to get the USMCA across the finish line before the adjourned for a five-week break over Coronavirus concerns. USMEF President & CEO Dan Halstrom says they are pleased with this step towards normalizing trade relations.
Despite the trade uncertainty and the renegotiation of parts of the USMCA pact, we still saw some very high exports of pork products to our northern neighbor.
Our beef exports to Canada slipped a little in 2019. However, that doesn?t mean we should be down on the over $650 million worth of product we were able to ship northward. Tariffs during the first half of the year did play a role in this decline.
With the USMCA put in place, the USMEF feels certain the stability will bring better numbers back to our red meat exports.
