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Perdue says US could reach bilateral deal with Mexico before reaching an agreement with Canada  

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says the US could potentially reach a bilateral deal with Mexico before it comes to an agreement with Canada. The Trump administration has recently floated the idea of negotiating bilateral deals instead of a trilateral NAFTA.

Perdue visited his Canadian counterpart, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay, today. The three countries have been renegotiating NAFTA for months, but most recently have switched to bilateral meetings.

“The issues with Mexico and Canada are vastly different in many ways and I think the ambassador believes that we could get a bilateral deal more quickly with Mexico and then with Canada and possibly come back together with all three nations,” he says. “Hopefully we can get that done sooner than later.”

Perdue says there were several good conversations during the visit, even those surrounding Canada’s dairy management system, which has been a source of disagreement during renegotiations.

“If they want to maintain a dairy supply management system and there are strong political thoughts about it up here, then that is there business,” he says. “But then manage the supply to control that supply so it’s not overproduced and spilling over into the export market.”

Perdue says the USDA will also continue to monitor the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the E.U. announced by President Trump. The U.S. allies, have threatened to retaliate if they are implemented.

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