Iowa farmers and pork producers are urging the U.S., Mexico and Canada to renew a massive trade agreement in the coming weeks.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020, includes a mandatory review on July 1. The three countries will decide whether to extend the USMCA for another 16 years, terminate the agreement or begin an annual review process starting in 2027, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Trade leaders from Canada and Mexico said earlier this week that they’d like to renew the USMCA through 2042. If the U.S. opts out, the USMCA will sunset in July 2036.
Bob Hemesath grows corn and raises hogs in northeast Iowa. At the World Pork Expo in Des Moines Wednesday, he moderated a roundtable with agricultural leaders in the state as board chairman of the nonprofit coalition Farmers for Free Trade.
“At a time when global competition is intensifying and market access is more critical than ever, the USMCA agreement remains a cornerstone of North America agriculture, trade and just economic impact overall,” Hemesath said. “For Iowa, that impact is tangible. Canada and Mexico account for a vast majority of our state's key export markets.”
Around 40% of Iowa’s goods are exported to the two countries, according to the Brookings Institute. The total value in 2023 was $8.9 billion with corn, soybeans, ethanol and tractors at the top of the list.
“This all trickles down to our small towns,” said Randy Miller, a farmer in south-central Iowa and board member of the American Soybean Association and U.S. Soybean Export Council.
Miller said USMCA allows for “free, reciprocal” trade. Products that comply with the trade agreement have largely been exempt from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Miller and Christopher Pudenz, an Iowa Farm Bureau Federation economist, said Wednesday that they support renewing the USMCA for another 16 years without any changes.
“Our biggest competitor, agriculturally, internationally, right now is Brazil. Do you know what Brazil doesn't have with Mexico? Some sort of free trade agreement like USMCA,” Pudenz said. “Maintaining this USMCA relationship is really, really important for keeping Brazil a step behind us in a market like Mexico.”
Julie Kenney is CEO of Agribusiness Association of Iowa, an organization that represents over 1,000 manufacturers, wholesalers and agricultural retailers in the state. She said an intact USMCA benefits farmers and agribusinesses, both with exports and imports.
“We do get over 85% of our potash from Canada,” Kenney said. “Canada is sitting on the largest potash reserves in the world, and so, having a neighbor that has that vast resource is critically important to Iowa farmers, to our wholesalers and manufacturers, and ag retailers, as well.”
Potash is primarily used to make fertilizer. After Canada, Belarus and Russia have the second and third largest potash reserves in the world.
“It just makes sense to do business with our neighbors,” Kenney added.
While Kenney would like the USMCA to be renewed, she said there are opportunities for improvements. She pointed to grain inspections as an example.
“When we think about grain inspections, USDA [Federal Grain Inspection Service] inspects that grain before it crosses the border,” Kenney said. “They're making sure that it meets the import standards into Mexico, for example. We do have challenges currently in that Mexico is duplicating those inspections.”
Kenney said this duplication can lead to logistical challenges in the supply chain.
During a separate event with reporters, Maria Zieba, vice president of government affairs with the National Pork Producers Council, said the NPPC also wants the USMCA renewed.
“What we want is essentially to maintain what we have,” Zieba said.
U.S. pork goes to Canada and Mexico without tariffs and quotas under USMCA, Zieba said. She added that the benefits for pork were first established with NAFTA three decades ago.
“We were a net importer of pork in 1994. Then NAFTA went into effect,” Zieba said. “We became a net exporter.”
Mexico, the top export market for U.S. pork, bought products worth $2.85 billion last year. Canada came in fourth place, importing pork and pork products with a value of $758.65 million.
USMCA also includes food safety and plant and animal health regulations. Maintaining the trade agreement gives pork producers certainty, Zieba said.
“When producers look at making investments for the future, they are pouring concrete for their barns and they're thinking of 40 years in advance,” Zieba said. “If the rules change on you, then all that investment that you've made in the future does get compromised.”
