The renegotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement get underway on August 16th. Canada, Mexico, and the United States can sit down at a table to update the twenty-year-old agreement. Former Chief Agricultural Trade Negotiator Darci Vetter said the upcoming negotiations represent an opportunity for needed updates to the agreement…tape
Vetter talks about certain parts of NAFTA that need to be brought into the new century…tape
Vetter
Vetter says the original NAFTA agreement is a good foundation to build upon for the three countries. She says agricultural trade is a big success story for NAFTA and doesn’t need a lot of changes…tape
She says one thing that needs to happen is for the talks to conclude as quickly as possible. A long delay isn’t a good thing for keeping agricultural exports as high as possible…tape
Vetter says the U.S. “was the only game in town” as a reliable commodity supplier, especially for Mexico, when NAFTA was first negotiated. The U.S. now has very capable competitors around the world.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.