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Perdue’s NAFTA concern heightens Hurst’s

The president of the Missouri Farm Bureau says his concerns about NAFTA renegotiation have been heightened by those of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, “That’s something that will keep you up at night. And, I know Secretary Perdue is a very smart and very capable leader of agriculture and we’re very happy to have him where he is. But, if he’s that concerned, then I’m really concerned.”

Blake Hurst says withdrawal or failure to reach agreement on NAFTA would be an economic disaster for U.S. agriculture, “Tariffs on our exports to Mexico, for example, are ZERO. They would go up to an average of 15%. So, you see a 15% price increase and you’re going to see a probably less than 15% drop in demand but maybe not. Maybe it’s greater than that. When you start talking about a 10 or 15% decline in already unprofitable prices, then you’re talking about an economic emergency for agriculture.”

Hurst says there are NAFTA improvements that can be made including phyto-sanitary problems at the border and improvements in U.S. dairy trade with the Canadians. Hurst says 70% of Missouri farmers’ exports go to either Canada or Mexico.