The third round of formal negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement gets underway next week in Canada. Round three of the talks are planned in Ottaway September 23rd through September 27th.
The meeting follows the first set of talks in Washington, D.C., and the second round of talks held in Mexico City, Mexico earlier this month. However, rounds one and two were largely uneventful with little resolution on major trade issues between the NAFTA partners, and there’s a hinting from the administration that a deal may not be reached. Any negative trade impacts to agriculture would be significant.
Mexico exports $23 billion of agricultural products to the U.S., while Canada exports $22 billion. Canada and Mexico are top markets for U.S. agricultural products, as well. Corn exports to Mexico alone are worth an estimated $2.6 billion, while soybean exports to Mexico from the U.S. are worth an estimated $1.5 billion. For exports to Canada, it’s estimated that the U.S. exports $4.8 billion worth of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.