JOINT STATEMENT
For Immediate Release: October 1, 2018
Contact: Caitlin Eannello, Director of Communications, National Association of Wheat Growers, (240) 423-4345, ceannello@wheatworld.org
Steve Mercer, Vice President of Communications, U.S. Wheat Associates, (703) 650-0251, smercer@uswheat.org
Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) welcome the Administration’s decision to move ahead with an updated trade deal with Canada and Mexico and look forward to learning more about the details.
We are pleased that the Administration recognizes the need for policy certainty with some of our top customers. While NAWG and USW must review the language of the new deal, we hope to see provisions that are positive for wheat farmers.
The current North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is critically important for wheat farmers who depend on the enormous Mexican market that NAFTA built, but it did have room for improvements, particularly on grain trade with Canada. NAWG and USW called for a fix to the Canadian grain grading system which automatically designates U.S. wheat as the lowest grade simply because it is foreign. This means U.S. farmers producing the highest quality wheat arbitrarily get less value for their crop.
Farmers should understand that nothing has changed yet, but we are pleased to see that USTR has made progress in resolving this issue, with Canada agreeing to grade imported wheat with the same requirements as Canadian wheat. We will follow the implementation of this commitment closely to ensure U.S. farmers can finally have reciprocal access to the Canadian market.
About NAWG
NAWG is the primary representative in Washington D.C. for wheat growers, working to ensure a better future for America’s growers, the industry and the general public. NAWG works with a team of 2 state wheat grower organizations to benefit the wheat industry at state and national levels. From their offices in the Wheat Growers Building on Capitol Hill, NAWG’s staff members are in constant contact with state association representatives, NAWG grower leaders, Members of Congress, Congressional staff members and the public.
About U.S. Wheat Associates
USW’s mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance wheat’s profitability for U.S. wheat producers and its value for their customers.” USW activities in more than 100 countries are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 17 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. For more information, visit our website at www.uswheat.org.
Nondiscrimination and Alternate Means of Communications
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