Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says he’s in the process of drawing up contingency plans for the agriculture industry, in case the U.S. withdraws from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The Washington Examiner says those comments come just days ahead of the fifth round of talks between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. There hasn’t been a lot of measurable progress as Canada and Mexico are rejecting the Trump Administration’s more controversial proposed changes to the deal. That has made the threat of breakdowns in negotiations a real possibility.
Perdue says a breakdown in communications could mean the U.S. would pull out of the pact. “We’re talking to the administration and Congress about some mitigation efforts if that were to occur,” says Perdue, “such as how we would protect our producers with the safety net if prices respond negatively to withdrawal.” Still, Perdue says these are only contingency plans and that he expects the NAFTA negotiations to succeed. “There’ll be some nervous bumps along the road, in the meantime,” Perdue says.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.