The second round of talks of the NAFTA renegotiation began in Mexico City, Mexico on September 1, and ran until September 5.
Moving into the second phase of negotiations, there haven’t been any indications of increasing tariffs on agricultural products, according to Mark Powers, president of the Northwest Horticultural Council (NHC).
However, a section under the “Trade Remedy” section of objectives may prove harmful if handled the wrong way, he added.
Powers said he worries the NAFTA provisions on countervailing and anti-dumping could be updated in a way that would harm Washington growers and producers, as the move could hinder the U.S.’ ability to ship fruits and vegetables to Mexico and Canada.
Powers told website Lens, he is optimistic that negotiators will keep the needs of the state and country’s agriculture industry in mind as discussions continue.
“The commitment on the part of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and I believe of other countries as well is to ‘do no harm,’ which is the catch phrase that you hear often applied to agriculture,” said Powers.
Both Lighthizer and the USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue share this goal, he added.
“They recognize NAFTA has been very beneficial for U.S. agriculture, and in many cases its duty-free access already exists almost entirely.”
Powers added that he is “fairly optimistic” about the second stage of discussions as it relates to agriculture, as the negotiators will likely find agreement on less expansive provisions first.
Powers said he anticipates the third round, hosted in Ottawa, Canada in late September, to be the more strategic and sensitive round. Trade remedies fall into the more delicate category of topics to cover, which negotiators will likely tackle during this phase of talks, he added.
A fourth round is slated to take place in Washington, D.C. in October, and will be followed by three additional rounds which could stretch into early 2018.
