Vice President Mike Pence made a visit last week to talk with farmers and other agricultural officials in Glyndon, Minnesota. House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson reacted to Pence’s visit to his district. “He visited my district to urge me to get the Speaker of the House to bring up a vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement,” he says. “As a supporter of USMCA, I’m happy to make that request. However, the Vice President also knows that there are some hurdles to get over between now and getting this done.” First things first, Peterson says the Administration needs to submit it to the House so it can be considered. There are also challenges in the Senate as Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley says Republicans have told the Administration it’s “dead on arrival” without removing the Section 232 Tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico. Peterson says the Administration hasn’t given his farmers any assurance that the tariff war with Canada and Mexico would end even if USMCA is officially passed. “My farmers are facing the double whammy of commodity prices below the cost of production and an uncertain trade future in all of their regular export markets,” Peterson adds.
