Vilsack says jury still out on USMCA, dairy exports

The U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement – what some policy watchers have referred to as “NAFTA 2.0” – went into effect July 1. Economists and ag policy groups generally hailed NAFTA and its successor agreement as huge wins for farmers and food producers with Mexico and Canada serving as the largest export markets for U.S. farm products.Former U.S. secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack serves as the president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. In a wide-ranging interview, Feedstuffs Farm Policy Editor Jacqui Fatka recently spoke with Vilsack about the newly implemented USMCA, as well as discussing the improving U.S. dairy export picture and the dairy industry’s ambitious goals on sustainability and carbon emissions. USMCA went into effect July 1, but already Vilsack warned that the actual implementation of the deal could fall short of the dairy industry’s expectations due to the way Canada interprets the agreement’s tariff rate quotas for dairy. He also discussed the challenges in growing exports to Mexico given that country’s struggling economy.This episode is sponsored by Balchem Animal Nutrition and Health – join Balchem for their Real Science Lecture series, a weekly webinar series featuring ruminant nutrition experts discussing vital topics for today’s dairy industry. You can learn more at BalchemANH.com/RealScience.For more information on this and other stories, visit Feedstuffs online.Follow Feedstuffs on Twitter @Feedstuffs, or join the conversation via Facebook.