North American Food, Ag Groups Call for USMCA Renewal

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 160 organizations representing the American, Canadian and Mexican food and agricultural value chains sent a joint letter today to the trade representatives of their three countries urging them to renew and strengthen the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as the required six-year joint review approaches.

The Agricultural Coalition for USMCA was a signatory and played a key role in organizing the letter. The National Corn Growers Association launched the coalition and helps direct the group's initiatives. 

"[USMCA] strengthens the resilience of our integrated agricultural markets, and over the past twenty years has made North America the most food-secured region in the world," the letter noted. "All three nations share the responsibility of protecting and strengthening this competitive advantage, which is essential not only to economic prosperity, but also to national security and regional stability."

The letter was sent to Ambassador Jamieson Greer, with the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Canada-U.S. Trade Representative Dominic LeBlanc and Mexico's Secretary of the Economy Marcelo Ebrard.

USMCA, which went into effect in July 2020, requires that the three countries meet on July 1, 2026, to review the agreement. All three countries must agree on a path forward, which could mean extending the agreement for another 16 years, terminating the agreement or entering a period of annual consultations. Agricultural organizations from all three countries are pushing their governments to uphold and strengthen the agreement to provide certainty needed in today's challenging economic times.

Advocacy groups across sectors have argued that to be globally competitive, continuing the efficient and seamless integration between the three countries is crucial. They argue that USMCA represents one of the largest trading blocs in the world, with over 500 million people, a $30 trillion-dollar GDP and a trade volume of $1.7 trillion.

"Without this trade agreement, North America is more vulnerable to countries that employ trade-restrictive policies that negatively impact the movement of food from areas of surplus to deficit," the letter said. "[USMCA] is key to maintaining a competitive global advantage that reduces reliance on distant supply chains and encourages investment across the region."

The groups noted that the agreement has also eliminated regulatory barriers for all three countries, increased regulatory transparency and ensured science-based treatment of agricultural commodities and products.

"[USMCA] creates an environment that can mitigate trade challenges instead of spurring escalation," the letter said. "This is especially important as the entire food and agriculture supply chain is grappling with high input costs, low commodity prices, natural disasters, and global unrest. Price increases are difficult in any time but especially now."

Signers of the letter hope to see a commitment to renewing the agreement as the negotiations surrounding the USMCA Joint Review continue and advance.

READ THE LETTER

ContactBryan Goodman Agricultural Coalition for USMCA [email protected]

SOURCE Agricultural Coalition for the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement