There’s no question the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is incredibly important to agriculture, acknowledged Ambassador Julie Callahan, who serves as the chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
“The USTR published a Federal register notice to inform the USMCA review. One thing I love about ag stakeholders, no one is shy at all,” she said at the National Pork Industry Forum. “We received copious input from ag stakeholders across the board. What we learned from this exercise, which was not a surprise to us, is that stakeholders want the USMCA to be maintained.”
However, there are areas within the agreement that stakeholders thought they would get more benefits than they actually received in practice, she added.
“That is what we’re looking at — where are the sectors that require a tweak to the agreement itself?” Callahan said.
One of the USTR’s focuses right now is the trade deficit at USTR.
“The deficit with Canada in agriculture is also ballooning,” Callahan said. “In 2020, the U.S. had a $3 billion ag trade deficit with Canada. Last year, in 2025, it was $11 billion. We went from a $3-billion to an $11-billion deficit while the USMCA was enforced. We really want to look at which sectors are losing out.”
USMCA is Foundational to Economy
Nearly 70 U.S. agriculture and business organizations sent a letter on March 3 to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. In the letter, the groups—including the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC)—described Canada and Mexico as “foundational to our economic strength and resilience.” The push comes ahead of a high-stakes review scheduled for July, which will determine if the trade deal is renewed for a 16-year term.
The coalition is urging the USTR to maintain “sustained and meaningful engagement” with industry stakeholders throughout the review process.
“We strongly support concurrent efforts to resolve tariff and non-tariff barriers and to ensure existing,” the authors wrote. “USMCA commitments are fully implemented and adhered to. Maintaining duty-free treatment for USMCA-compliant goods throughout this process is an indispensable prerequisite for North American stability. To strengthen the U.S. manufacturing and industrial base, we urge the Administration to avoid imposing any new duties on Canada or Mexico and to restore duty-free trade.”
The organizations requested that the Trump administration focus on:
- Full Implementation: Resolving pending disputes and ensuring all parties meet their commitments.
- Market Predictability: Restoring certainty in North American trade flows.
- Tariff Prevention: Maintaining duty-free treatment for USMCA-compliant goods and avoiding the imposition of new tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products.
Agriculture Needs Certainty of USMCA
“For U.S. farmers and businessowners, maintaining a rules-based agreement with binding commitments protects their industries,” NPPC said in Capital Update. “Without the economic might USMCA provides, incomes would be affected by additional, burdensome costs related to transportation and compliance measures. Without the certainty guaranteed by USMCA, U.S. entities would face unreliable markets, and their global competitiveness would be weakened.”
The pork industry, in particular, has a significant stake in the negotiations. According to the NPPC, USMCA has been instrumental to long-term success. In 2025, Mexico remained the No. 1 export market for U.S. pork with nearly $2.85 billion in sales, while Canada ranked as the No. 4 market at approximately $759 million.
“NPPC is one of the stakeholder groups that we are continually reaching out to as we move forward bilaterally or regionally,” Callahan shared in her comments. “NPPC calls us when there’s an issue and a concern with a trading partner. We also call them when there’s specific issues that may affect pork access and we need to know, at a granular level, what will be helpful and what is needed to address this issue.”
Callahan said USTR will be working with members of Congress and with stakeholder organizations as it moves forward.
“There won’t be surprises as we move forward, because we will be having these constant communications with stakeholders,” she said.
