“The U.S. Apple Association (USApple) is pleased President Trump used his State of the Union address as a platform to speak about the importance of free and fair trade. The one thing that has accomplished the most for free and fair trade in apples, and most of agriculture, is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
“The NAFTA agreement is critical to the U.S. apple industry. Since the agreement took effect, American apple growers have quadrupled and doubled their exports to Mexico and Canada, respectively. With a combined value of $430 million annually, these top two exporting countries represent a 46 percent share of U.S. apple exports.
“As American agriculture’s largest export market, with nearly $43 billion annually in exports, NAFTA is important to the entire agriculture industry and the U.S. economy as a whole. The agreement boosts millions of American jobs, commodity markets and critical industry supply chains. NAFTA also allows American agriculture to maintain a competitive advantage in the international trade arena, where preserving and growing access to markets is critical.
“Maintaining these NAFTA markets is a top priority for USApple. We have worked closely with the White House, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Agriculture to convey the significance of preserving our NAFTA trading partnerships. We will continue to aggressively advocate for retaining our export markets.”
Contact:
Tracy Grondine
U.S. Apple Association
Tel: (+1) 703.442.8850