A top Trump Administration official says negotiations with Canada for revisions in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement have been challenging.
Luke Lindberg, the USDA’s Under Secretary for Trade and Agricultural Affairs, visited the Iowa State Fair on Tuesday. “I think everybody knows what needs to happen,” Lindberg said. “It’s just a matter of political courage and goodwill to do it.”
President Trump had threatened to impose 50% tariffs on a variety of Canadian exports into the U.S., including dairy products, cement and hockey equipment today, but the president announced last night there had been a break through and negotiations would continue for three days.
“With Canada right now it’s been pretty clear the president is unhappy with them in the way specifically they’ve been treating our alcohol sales in Canada and our dairy sales,” Lindberg said. “For too long they’ve been discriminating against our dairy producers, so we’d like to get past those hurdles before we can really engage in full force on broader USMCA review with Canada.”
The USMCA was ratified by the U.S., Canada and Mexico in early 2020 during Trump’s first term. Lindberg said there has been significant progress with Mexico during the current review period. “The teams have been in consistent communication,” Lindberg said. “I was actually down in Mexico last week on a non-USMCA related matter and heard from the Mexican government that they agree the process is moving forward.”
Lindberg is among several Trump Administration officials who’ve been at the Iowa State Fair, including the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of War.
(Reporting by Brent Barnett, Brownfield Ag News; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)