Tri-National Agricultural Accord features commitment to ensure strong NAFTA accord is reached.

Jacqui Fatka, Policy editor

October 19, 2017

2 Min Read
North American ag officials gather for trade talks
NASDA

Members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and their counterparts from Mexico and Canada gathered Wednesday in Denver, Colo., to open the 26th annual Tri-National Agricultural Accord.

The Tri-National Agricultural Accord represents a long-standing commitment among the senior state and provincial agricultural officials of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to work together collaboratively on agricultural trade and development issues. The vital importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for the agriculture and food processing economies of all three countries is the key focus of this year’s accord.

“We have the largest U.S. delegation in accord history gathered here this week in a strong statement of U.S. agriculture’s commitment to maintaining the vital relationship we have with Mexico and Canada,” said NASDA president and Connecticut commissioner of agriculture Steven Reviczky. “As NAFTA negotiations continue, we, as state leaders, are committed to advocating for a modernized NAFTA that preserves the gains agriculture has made to ensure agricultural trade with our North American neighbors will continue to grow and prosper.”

In a press conference with his counterparts in Mexico and Canada, Reviczky said there are opportunities to modernize NAFTA, and NASDA is encouraging federal officials to pursue greater market access opportunities for U.S. products, especially in Canada. He also said there are areas for improvement to enhance regulatory cooperation and coordination.

Jeff Leal, Ontario's minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, said regulatory harmonization is important for agriculture to ensure that goods -- especially perishable ones -- can flow quickly across borders.

Colorado agriculture commissioner Don Brown is hosting this year’s Tri-National Accord. The U.S. delegation is led by Reviczky, with Michigan director of agriculture Jamie Clover Adams chairing the U.S.-Canada Bilateral and Oklahoma secretary of agriculture Jim Reese chairing the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral. The Canadian delegation is led by Leal, and the Mexican delegation is led by Jalisco secretary of rural development Héctor Padilla Gutiérrez.

Concerns over whether the three countries can reach an agreement are rising. Gutiérrez said Mexico is “undoubtedly nervous” that a deal won’t be reached. He said the three countries now have complementary economic systems. “If we aren’t successful or don’t have good outcomes with new negotiation phases, we will all lose. The effects will be felt by every one of the states and provinces of our three countries,” he warned.

Gutiérrez said until a definitive agreement is reached, a lot of uncertainty remains that could affect economic viability. “This does not promote faith or confidence in everyday workers,” he said.

NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association that represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries and directors of the departments of agriculture in all 50 U.S. states and four U.S. territories. NASDA grows and enhances agriculture by forging partnerships and creating consensus to achieve sound policy outcomes among state departments of agriculture, the federal government and stakeholders.

About the Author(s)

Jacqui Fatka

Policy editor, Farm Futures

Jacqui Fatka grew up on a diversified livestock and grain farm in southwest Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, with a minor in agriculture education, in 2003. She’s been writing for agricultural audiences ever since. In college, she interned with Wallaces Farmer and cultivated her love of ag policy during an internship with the Iowa Pork Producers Association, working in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Capitol Hill press office. In 2003, she started full time for Farm Progress companies’ state and regional publications as the e-content editor, and became Farm Futures’ policy editor in 2004. A few years later, she began covering grain and biofuels markets for the weekly newspaper Feedstuffs. As the current policy editor for Farm Progress, she covers the ongoing developments in ag policy, trade, regulations and court rulings. Fatka also serves as the interim executive secretary-treasurer for the North American Agricultural Journalists. She lives on a small acreage in central Ohio with her husband and three children.

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