Retail, Food Industries Heartened by USMCA Trade Deal

The news that the United States, Mexico and Canada have reached a trade agreement that Congress plans to ratify had the retail and food industries expressing the hope that the measure would pass quickly.
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Representing grocers, Andy Harig, VP, tax, trade, sustainability and policy development at the Arlington, Va.-based Food Marketing Institute (FMI), responded as follows:

“We are extremely encouraged by today’s announcement that congressional leaders and the Trump administration have reached agreement on several outstanding issues and will now move forward with a vote on the [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)].

“The USMCA improves NAFTA by modernizing it for the 21st century and securing the gains of the last 25 years for future generations. Areas like biotechnology and ecommerce – which were in their infancy when the original deal was negotiated – are addressed, as are science-based food safety standards that reflect the growth of knowledge in the field.

“This new North American trade agreement maintains and secures the existing supply chain, resulting in continued growth in U.S. food and beverage exports. The USMCA supports U.S. jobs and enables grocers to keep feeding families and enriching the lives of American consumers.

“Progress on the USMCA would not have been possible without the Trump administration and the House Democratic leaderships’ focus and collaboration to create an updated and comprehensive USMCA that works for all parties. We greatly appreciate their efforts, as well as those of Senate leadership and our partners in Canada and Mexico.

Article Source: Progressive Grocer. Click here to read the entire article.