WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 7, 2020 – Today, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, which once implemented will provide much-needed certainty to U.S. pork producers.
“We thank Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for making USMCA passage a top priority and we thank those members of the committee who support this important trade deal,” said National Pork Producers Council President David Herring, a hog farmer from Lillington, N.C. “USMCA will allow the U.S. pork industry to maintain long-term, zero-duty market access to two of our largest export markets.
“We now urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to schedule a vote on the floor as soon as possible,” added Herring.
In 2018, Canada and Mexico took over 40 percent of the pork that was exported from the United States and a similar percentage is expected in 2019. U.S. pork exports to Canada and Mexico support 16,000 U.S. jobs.
