J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 9 8 POTATO GROWER USMCA Disputes Puts Trade Momentum On Hold In late May, the Trump Administra- tion announced they were sending the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to Capitol Hill for approval by September. The potato industry is strongly support- ive of this action by Congress and are aligning with other agriculture groups to gain the votes in the House and Senate for approval. The USMCA was signed by the lead- ers of all three countries last Fall. However, for it to become effective all three countries’ legislative bodies must individually ratify the agree- ment. The ongoing trade disputes had effectively sidelined any consid- eration of the agreement by the U.S. Congress. A necessary step forward occurred on May 17, when it was announced that the U.S., Mexico and Canada had all agreed to eliminate retalia- tion that stemmed from the U.S. steel and aluminum (Section 232) action. This was important, as experts believed that the retaliatory tariffs had to be eliminated for the necessary votes to emerge for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). U.S. Congressional consideration is occurring as both Canada and Mexico have started their own approval processes. The Canadian House of Commons is currently considering the Canada-U.S.- Mexico (CUSMA) Implementation Act. Mexico has also changed some of its labor laws to satisfy U.S. con- cerns. This includes new labor courts and conciliation bodies to assist workers across Mexico. Canada and Mexico are the 2nd and 3rd largest export markets for U.S. potatoes. It is estimated that $80 million annually in frozen fry exports were jeopardized by Mexico's 20% retaliatory duties. The U.S. House and Senate approval of the USMCA will be challenging. Since the last approval of a free trade agreement, over 70% of Congress is entirely new. In 2018 there were 104 exiting House mem- bers, making it a 23% turnover just in the last year. The Democratic Majority in the House has several concerns they want addressed before approving the new pact. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others are moving that NPC Mes sage by John Keeling, NPC Executive Vice President and CEO