Pet Food Institute applauds agreement on USMCA

The Pet Food Institute (PFI) has celebrated the agreement reached by the Administration and Congress on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will provide much-needed stability and transparency for pet food makers, and urges swift ratification of this critical trade agreement.

The Pet Food Institute (PFI) has celebrated the agreement reached by the Administration and Congress on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will provide much-needed stability and transparency for pet food makers, and urges swift ratification of this critical trade agreement.

The USMCA will benefit U.S. pet food and treat producers by maintaining the core provisions and market access of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), while enhancing and incorporating new provisions that will assist as manufacturers seek to maintain and develop further exports throughout the region. Thanks to NAFTA’s success, U.S. dog and cat food exports to Canada and Mexico totaled approximately $740 million in 2018, representing well over one-half of all U.S. pet food exports.

“USMCA ratification by Congress will be a critical step in assuring continued tariff-free trade with our first and third largest export markets, allowing U.S. pet food makers to strengthen and deepen relationships with their Canadian and Mexican partners,” said Dana Brooks, president and CEO of PFI. “We appreciate the efforts of Congress and the Administration to work together and we urge Congress to complete its task by ratifying the agreement as quickly as possible.”

The North America supply chain is a crucial part of U.S. pet food makers’ businesses, which relies upon the integrated relationships built with northern and southern trading partners. The United States also imported more than $250 million of pet food products from Canada and Mexico last year, demonstrating the synergy that NAFTA has facilitated and that the USMCA will provide going forward. An expeditious ratification by Congress will see these accomplishments further grow.

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