12.19.19

Hoeven Statement After House Approves USMCA

Senator Worked to Secure Provision Eliminating Canada’s Downgrade of U.S. Wheat

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after the House of Representatives approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Since President Donald Trump signed the agreement with Mexico and Canada over a year ago, Hoeven has repeatedly made the case for approval of USMCA. 

“Given the challenges facing our farmers and ranchers, House passage of USMCA is an important step forward,” said Hoeven. “While the USMCA had to start in the House, and the agreement was held up there for too long, we’re glad USMCA is finally making its way to the U.S. Senate. USMCA will provide much needed certainty for our agriculture, energy and other industries and we will now work to approve the agreement as quickly as possible in the Senate.”

According to the International Trade Commission, USMCA will increase U.S. agricultural and food exports to Canada and Mexico by $2.2 billion when fully implemented. The senator worked to ensure that the USMCA benefits North Dakota producers by:

  • Eliminating Canada’s Downgrade of U.S. Wheat: Hoeven worked to ensure that USMCA eliminates Canada’s automatic downgrade of imported U.S. wheat to feed grade to help make certain that grading standards and services are non-discriminatory.

Additionally, USMCA:

  • Expands access to the Canadian market for U.S. poultry, eggs and dairy and eliminates Canada’s Class 6 and 7 dairy program.
  • Requires 75 percent of auto content to be produced in North America in order to be exempt from tariffs, up from 62.5 percent.
  • Makes needed modernizations on intellectual property, digital trade and financial services.

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