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Leaders in ag and manufacturing stress stability of USMCA

Leaders across agriculture and manufacturing are stressing the importance of stability provided by the US – Mexico – Canada (USMCA) Agreement.

“Basically do no harm to this agreement because it is working.”

Dave Walton, Iowa farmer and vice president of the American Soybean Association, says USMCA has established supply chains that are now vital to all three countries.

“As we are in these uncertain times, it’s one of the things that we’ve been able to rely on.”  He says, “U.S. soybean farmers have been able to quadruple our exports into Mexico and double our exports into Canada.”

Stu Swanson, chair of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, says it’s been beneficial for both producers and consumers.

“It’s an agreement that we can visually see.”  He says, “Trains loading in Iowa, heading south across the Mexican border. We see pigs farrowed in Canada that are imported into Iowa. That relationship back and forth of all of those types of products is critically important.”

Curt Blades, senior vice president with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, tells Brownfield, “A tractor will cross the borders with Canada and Mexico eleven times before it becomes a whole tractor.”  He says, “That’s just basically how the supply chain has been set up. We simply don’t have all of that capacity in the United States, so we rely on our friends.”

In a recent release, the National Foreign Trade Council also underscored how the trilateral agreement supports American jobs, strengthens North American supply chains, and helps U.S. industries compete globally.

U.S. and Mexico negotiators are expected to meet next week to begin the USMCA review process.  All three countries are scheduled to meet this summer.

Walton and Swanson made their comments at a USMCA outlook panel at the 2026 Commodity Classic.

AUDIO: Curt Blades – AEM