Washington, DC — In response to Trump administration policies, a Mexican senator plans to introduce a bill directing that nation to stop buying American corn in favor of corn from Brazil and Argentina. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says U-S farmers should be concerned about the threat and he plans to discuss the situation today (Tuesday) in a White House meeting with the head of the National Trade Council.
Of the three key economic categories of manufacturing, agriculture and services, Grassley says agriculture is the only one where the U-S has a surplus, or more exports than imports. The North American Free Trade Agreement was agreed upon in 1994 by the U-S, Mexico and Canada, an agreement President Trump referred to as a “disaster” during the campaign. Grassley suggests when NAFTA was ratified, there may’ve been a different sentiment about America’s strengths.
President Trump met Monday in Washington with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump said he wants only small changes in NAFTA in regards to Canada, adding, the bigger issues will be with Mexico.
Iowa is the nation’s top corn producer and Mexico is one of the top buyers of American corn. In 2015, Mexico bought nearly two-and-a-half billion dollars worth of U-S corn. Compared to 20 years before, just after NAFTA was signed, Mexico bought 391-million dollars worth of U-S corn in 1995.
