WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, spoke on the Senate floor today to stress the importance of passing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Roberts has heard first-hand from producers, farmers, ranchers and growers who would benefit from the trade agreement. Roberts joined Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) [EP1] in a colloquy to encourage the timely passage of the USMCA in order to provide certainty and predictability to our nation’s agriculture industry as a whole.

NOTE: View Senator Roberts’ floor remarks by clicking here or on the photo above.

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Mr. President, I ask to be recognized…

Since NAFTA was signed into law, Canada and Mexico have been two of our strongest trading partners. U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico supports over 110,000 jobs in Kansas. While those jobs are across all sectors of the economy, many are tied to the agriculture value chain. NAFTA secured greater market access for producers, and today, over a quarter of our country’s agricultural exports are destined for Canada and Mexico.

As with every trade agreement, there is always room for improvements and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has modernized the trade pact we have benefited from for over 20 years. The U.S. agriculture industry needs this trade agreement now to offer greater certainty and predictability regarding demand in the marketplace.

As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I have heard directly from producers and the broader agriculture industry regarding the challenging farm economy. Everyday our farmers, ranchers, and growers experience incredible challenges including weather variability, high input and production costs, and market volatility.

The uncertainty regarding U.S. trade policy has led some of our most important trading partners to turn to our competitors. At a time when the U.S. agriculture industry is facing new trade retaliation threats on top of the challenging agriculture economy, we must offer greater certainty and predictability for the farmers and ranchers across the country.

Congressional passage of USMCA would be a pivotal step towards restoring the United States as a reliable supplier. I urge my colleagues in the House and the Senate to give fair and swift consideration to USMCA, so that we can expand critical market access and create new trade opportunities for U.S. agriculture.

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