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Newton: trade is top of mind for the ag industry

Trade is a top priority as farmers continue to face a difficult year.

The chief economist for American Farm Bureau says the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement must be ratified.

John Newton says he believes there is enough support for the agreement.

“I think there is probably enough votes to get it through, but I think the speaker wants to have a little bit more democratic support before we get it over the finish line,” he says. “But I hope we get it done because It’s a win for agriculture.”

Speaking to Brownfield at the Farm Science Review, he says it’s also critical that progress is made in the US-China trade war.

“It’s important to restore those relations,” he says. “We’ve got folks who are doing trade visits to China and letting them know that those long relationships that we’ve built as a supplier and them as our customer we look forward to that being restored.”

He says trade progress with Japan will help level the playing field for US farmers.  

“We don’t know how much it’s going to improve beef market access, for example, or what it’s going to do on dairy or if they’re going to do anything on rice,” he says. “We don’t know yet and I think once we see the details, we’ll have a better understanding.”

Audio: John Newton, American Farm Bureau