Here & Now

Elected Officials React to a New NAFTA

Frederica Freyberg:

The Trump Administration announced a new trade deal between the U.S., Mexico and Canada this week. The pact, formerly known as NAFTA, is now called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. Wisconsin dairy farmers stand to see some gains from the renegotiated agreement. Director of Dairy Policy Analysis at UW-Madison Mark Stephenson says while it will improve trade in an incremental way, the impact on U.S. producer milk checks will be quite small. Governor Scott Walker reacted this way saying, “This is a big win for Wisconsin’s dairy farmers. The new deal will open up Canadian markets for our dairy farmers, eliminate certain tariffs and eliminate Canada’s protectionist trade policies related to ultra-filtered milk that targeted Wisconsin dairy producers.” U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin said, “The USMCA appears to be an important step forward, easing some of Canada’s unfair trade barriers and increasing market access for our dairy farmers.” Baldwin says there is more work to be done around expanding markets for Wisconsin farmers and enforcing labor provisions. It should be noted that Congress must approve that pact.