MCGA president pushes for USMCA ratification in Washington
(MCGA President Les Anderson was joined by National Corn Growers Association President Kevin Ross in a meeting with Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson)
Update (12/19): The U.S. House of Representatives passed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement by 385-41 vote. The Senate is expected to vote on the agreement in early 2020.
Minnesota Corn Growers Association President Les Anderson traveled to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to meet with members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation to stress the importance of United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ratification.
While it was announced last week Congress had come to an agreement with the White House on USMCA, it was not determined when the trade agreement would be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives. Anderson spent the day on Capitol Hill meeting with Minnesota policy makers to ask for their support and a timely vote on the House floor.
Anderson met with Representatives Angie Craig, Jim Hagedorn, Ilhan Omar, Dean Phillips, Pete Stauber and Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson to share the importance of passing USMCA in the House before the end of the year, which would bring much-needed certainty to farmers. With an expected vote in the U.S. Senate to come in 2020, Anderson also met with Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith to push for a January vote.
Mexico and Canada continue make up the largest, most reliable market for American corn. In 2018, 21.4 million metric tons of corn and corn co-products were exported to Mexico and Canada, valued at $4.56 billion.
The visit was organized by the National Corn Growers Association as a final push to pass USMCA in 2019. Farmer leaders from other states joined Anderson in meeting with their delegation.
so Anderson brought a corn cob from the field they harvested as a thank you.
