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McCaskill “very worried” about NAFTA renegotiations

The U.S. will initiate NAFTA renegotiations in a few weeks and that’s made more than a few U.S. lawmakers nervous.  Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill tells Brownfield Ag News she is very worried, “If we begin moving the needle as it relates to other products, I think the concern is that the retaliation would come against agriculture.”

McCaskill, a Democrat, says there is concern on both sides of the aisle, “Both Republicans and Democrats that are from states where agriculture is the foundation of our economies. And, we want to make sure that while we’re trying to get more jobs in America we don’t do harm to America’s agricultural economy.”

She says Canada is Missouri agriculture’s leading trade market and Mexico is second, “I know Mexico is looking to Brazil to see if they can get their input costs down and get their margins closer so that the prices are closer to ours because the Mexican government is under political pressure to not do business with the United States because of some of the anti-Mexican rhetoric used by the president.”

McCaskill tells Brownfield she has no problem if President Trump believes he can get a better deal but – in her words – it doesn’t do any good to increase the price of Canadian steel if Canada is going to put tariffs on U.S. corn.

McCaskill says farmers shared their concerns about ag trade in her recent round of town hall meetings in Missouri.