United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMUCKER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the new trade agreement negotiated with Mexico and Canada, or the USMCA.

My district that I represent, the 11th District of Pennsylvania, is one of the top ten dairy producing counties in the Nation and is the number one producing county for egg layers.

One thing that I can tell you about the farmers of the 11th District is that they adapt, and they hold on to hope that better times are yet to come. I agree with them: better times are coming for these farmers because the Trump administration has worked to do right by the American farmer in negotiating the USMCA.

Under the agreement, Canada would eliminate its price control systems, which have effectively locked out America's dairy industry.

The agreement also makes improvements for the egg and poultry industry, with Canada agreeing to increase its quota regimes to allow for more American eggs and chicken into the market.

The farmers of my district are eagerly calling for the USMCA to be enacted as soon as possible, and I join them today in that call. I am hopeful that we can get there.

That is why I urge the leadership across the aisle to join in standing up for our Nation's farmers and to allow a vote on the USMCA. We have a generational opportunity to help American farmers compete and to thrive. Let's take that opportunity.

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