A farmer from Nebraska says the North American Free Trade Agreement is a success story for U.S. agriculture and warns of the risks involved in renegotiation. In a letter published by the New York Times, Alan Tiemann writes that NAFTA has tremendously benefited U.S. agriculture. Tiemann, a past U.S. Grains Council Chairman, recalled a delegation of Mexican buyers who recently visited Nebraska and Washington, D.C. He says: “Throughout this visit, the message was clear: the Mexican market has demand for quality ag products and want to continue buying from the U.S., but they will look elsewhere should free trade no longer be an option.” Mexico recently inked a deal with Brazil and is expected to import a record amount of corn from Brazil, according to Tiemann. He says since the inception of NAFTA, U.S. ag exports to Canada and Mexico tripled and quintupled respectively. Noting concerns of the renegotiation of NAFTA, Tiemann says farmers “look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to ensure we maintain and build upon our established partnership with Mexico.”
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.