As many of you are aware, President Trump’s administration announced a successful renegotiation of a trilateral free trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This deal, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), includes several wins for the seed industry. Provisions for stronger intellectual property protection, strengthened sanitary and phytosanitary measures and increased support for new methods of plant breeding innovation like gene editing. While ASTA is still analyzing the full agreement, we are pleased the administration delivered on its promise to successfully renegotiate a trilateral agreement with two of our biggest trading partners.

President Trump has stated he intends to sign the USMCA by the end of November. The deal would then be sent to Congress to be ratified. ASTA’s press release on the deal can be found here, and you can find additional information from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative here.