After more than a year of partisan gridlock in Washinton, a replacement of the NAFTA agreement is now expected to win approval from Congress and alter the state of trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
IPR Agriculture Reporter Amy Mayer joins River to River to analyze the potential effects of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on Iowa agriculture. Although she says the main changes to NAFTA are regarding provisions around intellectual property, the new trade deal will also support American dairy farmers. The National Farmer's Union Board has recently spoken out in support of the new trade agreement despite remaining generally critical of NAFTA.
"I think [the USMCA] will contribute to farmers feeling better going into 2020," Mayer says. "I would say it's potentially going to have more broad support in the agricultural community than even NAFTA did and NAFTA was generally pretty popular."
Also featured on this 'News Buzz' edition of River to River, Iowa's Minister of Beer, J. Wilson, reports back after the Iowa Brewer's Guild's lobbying efforts in Washington D.C. last week to lower federal taxes on craft beer.
UNI Political Science Professor Chris Larimer also explains how the members of Iowa's congressional delegation are reacting to the impeachment process against President Trump. He walks through how each of the six representatives and senators' responses have been affected by their reelection campaigns.
Kieffer also speaks with Corridor Business Journal Reporter Katherine Carlon about Amazon setting up shop in Iowa City. And Cedar Rapids Police Department's Public Information Officer Greg Buelow weighs in on what to do about thieves who steal packages, also known as 'porch pirates.'
Guests:
- Chris Larimer, UNI Professor of Political Science
- Amy Mayer, IPR Reporter
- J. Wilson, Minister of Beer in Iowa
- Katherine Carlon, Business Reporter at the Corridor Business Journal
- Greg Buelow, Cedar Rapids Police Department Public Information Officer
- Mark Simmet, IPR Studio One Host
