The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) applauds the House passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) announced today because it will advance two of the most important markets for American farmers and agribusinesses.
“There is no doubt the House passage of USMCA is a win for America’s farmers, agribusinesses and the communities they serve,” says ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock. “This historic trade agreement will benefit agricultural retailers and their farmer customers by expanding market access and preserving zero-tariff platforms among ag products. The agreement is expected to increase ag exports and gross domestic product at a time when the ag economy sorely needs a boost.”
Food and agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico amounted to more than $39.7 billion in 2018 and supported more than 325,000 American jobs, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“We applaud the efforts of the Trump administration and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Frankly, we need more of this bipartisanship in Washington,” says Coppock. “We look forward to the Senate taking swift action to finalize passage in the new year.”
The response rate to ARA’s USMCA Ratification alert is the association’s most successful grassroots advocacy campaign to date and surpassed the previous most popular alert with nearly 30 percent more responses. ARA encourages members and agricultural retailers to sign up for grassroots alerts from ARA to stay informed on issues impacting their businesses.
ARA is part of the USMCA Coalition and participated in several social media days of action urging Congressional leaders to pass the USMCA in a series of coordinated social media posts.
