12.10.19

Hoeven Statement After House Agrees to Advance USMCA

Senator Worked to Secure Agriculture Provisions

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today released the following statement after the House of Representatives agreed to advance the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Over the past year, Hoeven has been advocating for the House to take action on the agreement which, according to the International Trade Commission, will increase U.S. agricultural and food exports to Canada and Mexico by $2.2 billion when fully implemented. 

“After being held up for more than a year in the House, it is time that House leadership moves this agreement quickly and gets it over to the Senate,” said Hoeven. “With our farmers and ranchers challenged by severe weather and unjustified retaliatory tariffs, USMCA will provide important certainty regarding our two biggest trading partners and significant benefits for U.S. agriculture. Now that the House has agreed to advance USMCA, Congress should move quickly to get it in place for the good of our country.”

The senator worked to ensure that the USMCA benefits North Dakota producers by:

  • Eliminating Canada’s Downgrade of U.S. Wheat: Hoeven advocated for USMCA to eliminate 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 other U.S. agriculture products like 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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