IL Corn Celebrates U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement for Trade Entry-into Force

IL Corn Growers Association and the corn farmers they represent are fortunate that today, July 1, trade with our top customers begins with a new, modernized trade agreement: the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement or USMCA.

“It’s been a long journey from the first conversation about modernizing the North America Free Trade Agreement to today, full entry-into force of the USMCA. Farmers have constantly been in touch with legislators about the importance of a workable trade agreement with our neighbors and we celebrated when the House and Senate passed this bill. Today, we are setting the course for our descendants who will also now get to enjoy the commerce with Mexico and Canada that have benefitted the ag industry for the last 26 years,” said Bill Leigh, Illinois Corn Growers Association President and Minonk, IL farmer.

 The list of advantages of USMCA for the corn industry is long. The agreement:

• maintains zero tariffs on U.S. feed grains, co-products and ethanol;
• provides the highest enforceable sanitary and phytosanitary standards in any trade agreement to date;
• addresses regulatory equivalence, science and risk analysis, transparency and cooperative technical consultations;
• creates a rapid-response mechanism to address trade challenges;
• modernizes border procedures; and
• includes an enforceable biotechnology chapter – the first ever in a U.S. trade agreement.

Mexico is the top importer of U.S. corn and dried distillers grains with soluables (DDGS). The U.S. supply’s 94 percent of Mexico’s corn imports, and has significant opportunities for future ethanol exports. Canada is a top market for U.S. corn and DDGS, and the second largest export destination for U.S. ethanol.