Senator Marshall: USMCA is the Most Important Trade Agreement of Our Lifetime

Senator Marshall highlights the Importance of USMCA Agreement for Kansas Ag

Washington - On Thursday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), questioned witnesses, including the Honorable Kevin Brady, former Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, and Ted Vander Schaaf, Owner of Vander Schaaf Farms, at the Senate Finance Committee Hearing focused on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

During the hearing, Senator Marshall underscored the critical role the USMCA plays in Kansas' economy, highlighting a 50 percent increase in Kansas agricultural exports to Mexico under the agreement and pointing to expanded opportunities for dairy and ethanol exports. Marshall stressed the importance of trade with Mexico and Canada for protecting Kansas jobs and keeping Kansas agriculture competitive on the global stage. Marshall also noted the importance of improving the agreement in order to decrease the U.S. trade deficit.

Click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall's full exchange.

Highlights from the hearing include:

Senator Marshall: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome to our guests as well. In my humble opinion, the USMCS trade agreement has been the most important, successful trade agreement of my lifetime. Chairman Brady, it's hard to believe it was eight years ago that you and I were in Mexico City negotiating and dotting some I's and crossing the T's. Maybe just briefly comment on whether this agreement has lived up to what you expected it to be? And more importantly, what would happen to rural America, to rural Texas, to rural Kansas, if the USMCA trade agreement review doesn't go well?"

Chairman Kevin Brady: "You know, I think Senator, thanks for your leadership on this agreement. And Kansas, like Texas, is one of those states and Tennessee where, if you put our USMCA jobs together, they would be the largest single employer in our state. So, it's big, I think, from an economic standpoint, jobs, sales, competitiveness, there's no question the President's agreement has delivered on all those fronts. Are there areas where commitments need to be put in? Absolutely, and the review is the perfect time for Congress and the administration to join to do it, to improve this and strengthen it. Going forward, I think the key for our ag, for manufacturing, for states like ours, is to ensure the design of USMCA, zero tariffs on these products, exemptions from other tariffs, levies like 232's, then the three-country integration. That's what drives the growth in our state, and certainly in your state, in mine as well. I would say the top priority is to maintain that design, because it is so smart. It's unique around the world. It's really proven to be the secret sauce in this agreement. So, improve it, which means strengthening it. Look at ways to modernize, including with China, right, you know, but look to extend it longer term, because those investments are helping."

Senator Marshall: "You probably went through the stats of this trade agreement before versus after. Americans went from 1.2 to $2 trillion in ag exports from Kansas in general, up 50%, because to Mexico, based upon this treaty, this agreement, as well. I just did a trip to Mexico City. I've always thought it's easier to keep a good customer than to find a new one. And Mexico has been a great customer for Kansas. And I was excited to see the great things that Mexico is trying to do to improve this relationship that seldom are reported in our national media, that President Sheinbaum sent 10,000 of her own troops to the border to help secure the border. She's turned over to us multiple drug cartel leaders, I think, cooperating with law and order, with security as well. Certainly, Mexico has benefited from these tariffs on other countries. So they take advantage in a good way, but then they turn around a bit, 14 tariffs on 1,400 some items coming into their country as well. So, chairman, Brady, do you feel like Mexico has been a good partner in this agreement, that they're sincere, that they are going beyond just the what's going across the border."

Chairman Kevin Brady: "You know, Senator, I do. I think they were quick to respond when the President first said, we got to secure this border. I mean, shut it down. And we need to address this fentanyl trade. I think they came to the table immediately, not just with proposals, but with real actions. And then, as the President talked about trade deficits, you know, about more jobs in the US and more industries here, they've brought solutions to the table. It seems to me, they're eager to try to address the President's priorities here. President Scheinbaum has developed a good working relationship with the President, and I feel they are being good partners and good faith partners in this review."

Senator Marshsall: "Great, you know, so I think there is a deficit, a significant deficit. So how can we address that? I think two opportunities are ethanol and dairy. I think a big challenge we have is rail right now. That we pretty well maxed out the current rail system. We need to address that. They need to address that. But Mr. Vander Schaaf, would you just talk about the opportunities for dairy exports specifically to Mexico?"

Mr. Ted Vander Schaaf: "Yeah, I think that with our agreement currently in place. Mexico is our greatest trading partner that we could have. I think that we could only expand on that. We have new production coming online domestically with new processors and plants in the Pacific Northwest. We just built a plant at Dairy Gold, and we expect to grow our business in Mexico. As I mentioned before, we are worried about the cost. Common name issue and monopolizing those names, and so we would like that addressed, but Mexico's a wide, vast canvas for us to continue to grow. We want to keep this agreement."

Senator Marshsall: "And you know, some of the great things about milk is it has so many great ingredients in it, not to mention the other good fats that help brain development, the protein in it, which helps decrease that appetite. So, we think there's a huge opportunity for dairy. We think there's a huge, even a bigger opportunity for ethanol going into that state as well."

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