The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement has made U.S. corn growers more globally competitive and should be extended for 16 years, according to testimony today from the president of the National Corn Growers Association before U.S. trade officials.
“The United States exports nearly five and a half billion dollars’ worth of corn to Mexico,” said Ohio farmer and NCGA President Jeff Bower. “This is about 40 percent of total corn exports. And, the United States exports almost one and a half billion dollars’ worth of ethanol to Canada, which is 35 percent of ethanol exports. The strength of these export markets is all because of the USMCA.”
Bower’s testimony was delivered to officials in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, which is the executive agency responsible for developing and promoting U.S. trade policies.
USMCA, which entered into force on July 1, 2020, was designed to streamline and enhance trade between the three North American countries. The agreement includes a 16-year term and a mandatory joint review between the countries every six years. The United States, Mexico and Canada must commence the first review of the agreement by July 2026.
American corn growers have benefited by the safeguards that are included in USMCA.
In 2023, at NCGA’s urging, the United States called for a dispute panel under USMCA after Mexico banned genetically modified corn. The final panel report was a clear and resounding decision that determined Mexico’s actions were not based on science and violated the trade agreement. Mexico complied with the panel report and withdrew the decree.
Bower pointed to that decision in his testimony as an important reason to renew the agreement.
“This proved – without a doubt – that USMCA’s dispute settlement chapter worked for the U.S. corn industry,” Bower said. “If Mexico’s presidential decree was allowed to remain, other countries around the world could follow suit, imposing their own policies, not based on science, which would discriminate against U.S. corn.”
NCGA has made USMCA renewal a top advocacy priority for the year ahead.