September 10, 2019

How you can get USMCA passed

Topic: Issues

September 10, 2019: You can help get the United States, Mexico, Canada agreement passed in Congress.

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Read the transcript:

Farming and ranching is full of challenges. Those challenges vary from weather, pests like insects, predators like coyotes. Prices have been a challenge, and many are trying to blame all the price challenge on the trade issues. Trade issues have only been at the forefront for a little over a year. However, deflated market prices have been around for nearly five years.

Now, we don’t want to dismiss that there is some impact from the trade challenges, but many trade deals have happened for the positive. Some are still in negotiations with the Trump Administration and others are laying on a desk waiting for action.

And what I’m talking about is the USMCA, the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement, the renegotiated NAFTA deal. Those countries came together, came to agreement, and now politics are being played by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, by not bringing it to a floor vote.

Everyone in agriculture is pretty certain the votes are there to pass it, and maybe that’s the problem. They’re playing politics with an agreement in hand, ready to be enacted, but the inaction of Congress is our problem.

You know these challenges cause a lot of anxiety in farm and ranch country. There’s two things I want to leave here today. 

One: When challenges are being faced, don’t be afraid to reach out and have discussions with those closest to you, or maybe someone that you haven’t talked to for a while. And just work through those challenges in your mind and with someone else to help understand what you’re going through.

And secondly: An action item. We need everyone to reach out to Speaker Pelosi and tell her, “Remove this issue from the table that’s creating challenges because the deal is done. It’s ready to be enacted, if we can get past the inaction of Congress." 

At NDFB, we know that, that deal isn’t perfect, but it’s better than what we had, and it needs to be enacted to give us the markets with our neighboring countries.

Make that call. Take the action. And call for it to be brought to the vote, to remove a challenge we are facing.