US Secretary of Agriculture Promoting USMCA In Watsonville

WATSONVILLE — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will be in California Friday, and is scheduled to meet with lawmakers and the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau as part of a town hall meeting to promote the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D) and Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R), along with the SCCFB, are slated for a 9 a.m. meeting with Perdue at Watsonville's Water Resource Center.

After he leaves Watsonville, Perdue will continue meeting with California officials to promote the USMCA at town halls scheduled Friday in Los Banos and Clarksburg.

President Trump, along with Mexico and Canada's leaders, signed the USMCA in November. However, the trade pact has not been ratified. The USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Following Trump's sign-off on the USMCA, Perdue released a statement that said, in part:

“The new USMCA makes important specific changes that are beneficial to our agricultural producers. We have secured greater access to the Mexican and Canadian markets and lowered barriers for many of our products. The deal eliminates Canada’s unfair Class 6 and Class 7 milk pricing schemes, opens additional access to U.S. dairy into Canada, and imposes new disciplines on Canada’s supply management system. The agreement also preserves and expands critical access for U.S. poultry and egg producers and addresses Canada’s discriminatory wheat grading process to help U.S. wheat growers along the border become more competitive."