More than 120 American food and agriculture organizations are urging Washington to fully renew the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), warning that weakening or reopening the deal could jeopardize North America’s integrated agricultural economy.
In a joint letter Thursday to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the groups — representing farmers, ranchers, exporters, distillers, and agribusinesses — voiced strong support for a full 16-year renewal of the pact, known in the US as the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). They credit the agreement with driving major growth in agricultural trade.
“The USMCA has allowed agricultural exports from the United States to soar,” the letter states, noting that the value of agrifood trade between the three countries has tripled since 2005, reaching $285 billion in 2023. Canada and Mexico now rank among the top five export destinations for many US agricultural products, from grains and oilseeds to meat, dairy, and processed foods.
Canada is the largest or second-largest market for a large variety of US agricultural products, such as grain and feed, dairy products, seeds, fruits and vegetables, meat and meat products, seafood and fish products, processed foods, distilled spirits, and biofuels. The groups warned that any attempt to alter or weaken the current provisions — particularly those protecting zero tariffs, science-based regulation, and intellectual property — could disrupt trade flows and undermine market confidence. They highlighted the agreement’s sanitary, phytosanitary, and biotechnology provisions as essential to maintaining efficient cross-border supply chains and protecting innovation in agriculture.
They also praised the dispute settlement system under Chapter 31 for providing stability and fairness in trade enforcement.
“Maintaining a rules-based agreement with binding commitments protects the US food and agriculture industry,” the organizations wrote. “Without the economic might this trilateral agreement affords, farmer incomes would be harmed, and markets would become less dependable.”
