The relationship between Mexico and Canada amid the upcoming North American Free Trade (NAFTA) negotiations is said by both countries to be more important than ever. The Canadian Broadcasting Company website says Mexican President Enrique Pena (payn-ya’) Nieto (Knee-eht-oh) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were both caught off guard by media reports saying U.S. President Donald Trump was readying an executive order to withdraw from the agreement. They both phoned Washington and asked Trump to renegotiate, not withdraw, and Trump agreed. Both countries previously agreed to renegotiations months ago. American corn producers are looking on nervously. The Mexican Ag Secretary recently led a tour of his country’s corn importers to Brazil and Argentina as part of a plan to diversify, especially if NAFTA negotiations fall apart. Last year, 98 percent of Mexico’s corn imports came from the United States, roughly $3.25 billion dollars worth of business for American farmers. Mexico’s Ag Secretary said, “This isn’t a commercial visit, or to generate good will, we are going there to sign purchase agreements.” Beyond just corn, Mexico is also the third-largest agricultural export market for the U.S.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.
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