Committee on Agriculture House of Repres

Renegotiating NAFTA Committee on Agriculture House of Repres

American farmers and ranchers are the most efficient, productive and competitive producers in the world. Their ability to meet the rapidly-growing and ever-changing demands both at home and abroad has allowed our country to become one of the world's most open agricultural economies, supplying our trading partners with a safe and affordable food and fiber supply. These trade relationships have become an essential part of the U. S. agricultural industry, and nowhere is trade more important than in our relationships with our neighbors to the north and south. For more than 20 years, NAFTA has governed trade among our three countries, and in that time U. S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have nearly quadrupled. Both countries have remained essential trading partners for the U. S., accounting for roughly 28 percent of total U. S. agricultural trade. While Canada and Mexico regularly are two of our top three export destinations for agricultural products, they also remain the United States' largest suppliers of agricultural inputs. In 2016, while the U. S. continued to run an overall trade surplus in agriculture, we managed to run a trade imbalance with both Canada and Mexico, totaling over $6 billion. A lot has changed since the 1994 agreement was signed. All three economies are much larger and production agriculture has evolved and improved, growing to meet ever-changing consumer demands and technological advances.