WASHINGTON – Following a letter sent by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (Mo.) demanding the Biden administration take action to hold Mexico accountable for failing to meet its obligations under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced this week that the U.S. has taken the first step toward invoking the trade agreement’s dispute settlement mechanism to challenge Mexico’s ban on U.S. grown corn and other American-made agriculture products.
“This announcement is a critical step in the right direction towards protecting American farmers and rural communities,” said Smith. “For more than two years while Democrats controlled Congress, the Biden administration didn’t do enough to challenge Mexico’s ban on American corn. Ways and Means Republicans will continue pressing the Biden administration and the Government of Mexico to come into compliance with its USMCA obligations.”
Mexico represents the second largest export market for U.S. corn, but American farmers have been under threat of new restrictions by Mexico for the last two years – an issue that still remains.
One of Smith’s top priorities as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade, is making sure U.S. trade policies protect American farmers, ranchers, and workers. Smith, a 4th generation owner of a family farm, worked closely with the Trump administration and his colleagues to get USMCA through Congress and to the president’s desk. |