WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today stressed the importance of reaching final passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement during a Senate Finance Committee Hearing.

“As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, my primary task is to work on behalf of farmers, ranchers, growers and other rural stakeholders in Kansas and across the country,” said Sen. Roberts. “We need to get this trade agreement done, it is good for American workers, it is good for Kansans and it is good public policy. The USMCA is long overdue and it is about time we get off the dime and bring it across the finish line for final passage.”

NOTE: View Senator Roberts’ full statement here.

Remarks as prepared below:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership and for your advocacy of the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA).

I wish we could have held this markup last year, but I am encouraged by the hard work and bipartisanship that has finally brought us here today. 

And before I begin, I also want to recognize the efforts of Ambassadors Lighthizer and Doud in addition to the whole team at USTR for negotiating this agreement.

Crafting a final product that could gain the support of so many stakeholders is no easy task, especially in today’s political climate.

And while I don’t believe this is the best possible bill before us today, I believe it is the best bill possible under a divided government.

As the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, my primary task is to work on behalf of farmers, ranchers, growers, and other rural stakeholders in Kansas and across the rest of our country.

And they’ve made one thing crystal clear over the past year or more – PASS USMCA NOW.

Times are challenging right now in farm country! We continue to be in a rough patch.

And, unfortunately, there is no single remedy that will solve all of the challenges facing producers today.

We need a variety of policy solutions that will provide incremental gains for our nation’s economy and our constituents.

Now, we passed a Farm Bill a little more than a year ago to provide farmers and ranchers with the certainty they need to be successful producers.

But as important as the Farm Bill is, I have heard from folks around the country that they need reliable markets, both domestically and abroad, to sell not just the things that we make, but also the commodities that we grow.

And for this reason, I will be supporting the passage of USMCA.

Canada and Mexico have continuously ranked in the top five destinations for U.S. agricultural exports since NAFTA was signed into law.

In 2018, the two countries accounted for approximately 29 percent of the value of total U.S. agricultural exports.

The value of U.S. agricultural exports to Canada in 2018 was over $20.8 billion, an increase of 276 percent since NAFTA was signed into law.

For exports to Mexico the value of U.S. agriculture has grown 316 percent from $4.6 billion in 1994 to $19.1 billion in 2018.

According to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), USMCA will provide even more growth potential for America’s farmers, ranchers and growers as well as all broad industry sectors within the U.S. economy.

I’ve spent a lot of time over my tenure as Chairman of both Senate and House Agriculture Committees talking about trade, in particular agricultural trade, and highlighting the stories of Kansans who work day in and day out to provide nourishing food to a hungry and growing world.

And what I’ve been hearing from Kansans is that we need to get this trade agreement done ASAP so we can move onto opening and expanding other markets around the globe.

If the U.S. isn’t leading the charge and setting the rules, other countries will be.

This agreement is good for American workers, it’s good for Kansans and it is good public policy.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I look forward to final passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA).

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