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USMCA push continues

Indiana Congressman Jim Baird says the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement is critical to U.S. farmers who continue to produce large quantities of quality products.

“Agriculture provides the foundation in these rural communities and the dollars they generate and the communities that they support is extremely invaluable to the whole state and the country,” he says.

Baird participated in a Farmers for Free Trade roundtable Wednesday in Tippecanoe County.

He says farmers must continue to reach out to their elected officials and give consistent information about agriculture and trade.

“If you can establish a base here locally that’s important as well as on up to the state and the federal level because you build a consensus,” he says.

There has been a renewed push to get the USMCA ratified. Vice President Pence was in Indiana last week to discuss the agreement with farmers. And the Trump administration and House Republicans are hosting meetings to build support for the USMCA as well.

House Democrats have expressed concerns about labor and environmental standards in the agreement.

Baird is a member of the House Agriculture Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.