USMCA is a Home Run!

By Lesly McNitt

I grew up in a baseball family and Yogi Berra’s classic sayings were quoted in our household often. The Yogi-ism that keeps coming to mind lately is, “it’s deja vu all over again.”  I’ll tell you why. When I first joined the National Corn Growers Association in 2017, I handled the trade portfolio. At the time, we were on the verge of losing the North American Free Trade Agreement, which had locked in Mexico and Canada as critical trading partners for the U.S. corn industry. NCGA helped lead the agriculture community, advocating that the Trump (45) administration and Congress secure and ratify a stronger replacement agreement, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada-Agreement, notably with bipartisan support.

Agriculture had taken North American trade for granted once, and we vowed not to do it again. By all accounts, USMCA has been a vast improvement over the original NAFTA, while still delivering even more for agriculture. But I fear we are just waking up to the fact that USMCA is not guaranteed and a potentially big threat for farmers lingers just over the horizon. In this farm economy especially, Mexico and Canada are not markets that we can afford to lose.

NCGA is mobilizing the ag community to ensure this doesn’t happen, and we are going to need your help.

USMCA is Important to Growers

Passed in 2018 and signed in 2020, USMCA has significantly increased U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico, provided more certainty between the three nations and established a better mechanism for resolving trade disputes, like one that arose over genetically modified corn exports to Mexico. In fact, thanks to the agreement, Mexico is reliably the U.S.’s top corn export market, and Canada is the top purchaser of ethanol, and these opportunities continue to grow. When the USMCA was negotiated, Mexico accounted for about 25% of U.S. corn exports – in 2025 it was 40%.

The Threat

Yet, despite USMCA’s positive impact on the farm and U.S. global competitiveness, the president has cast doubts on his commitment to renewing the agreement. Without a speedy renewal, farmers are faced with uncertainty at a time when they greatly depend on the stability of the foundational markets of Mexico and Canada. 

And the uncertainty grows as the clock is ticking.

USMCA contains a “sunset provision” that requires leaders of all three nations to begin a formal review by July 2026 to determine whether to renew the agreement. If renewed, UMCA would remain in effect for an additional 16 years, with another review scheduled in 2032.

But if the countries fail to reach agreement, USMCA will begin a sunset process, expiring in 2036 with potential annual consultations along the way, creating significant uncertainty for the farm economy. Currently, the Trump administration has not affirmed the path forward for USMCA. While the administration has acknowledged USMCA benefits, it also has highlighted major issues that need to be addressed in the review.

The Coalition & Campaign

Alarmed by the prospect of ultimately seeing this accord crumble, the National Corn Growers Association recently launched the Agricultural Coalition for USMCA, which is composed of over 30 of the nation’s major ag groups. Everything from corn to dairy to fresh produce are represented by the coalition.

The campaign features media outreach and digital and traditional advertising and advocacy in the halls of power in Washington, all designed to showcase the positive benefits of USMCA and the need for only targeted changes as the Trump administration approaches the review.

Unfortunately, this issue does not yet appear to be on many growers’ radar and we aim to change that. I am asking you to share this column with your friends and fellow farmers. I also encourage you to visit our new coalition website, which will provide you with campaign updates and ways to act. You can read our releases, sign up for advocacy alerts, follow the coalition’s social media platforms and so much more.

Together we will deliver the good news to the president: USMCA is a success that needs to continue far into the future. And we will work to save one of the most meaningful trade agreements of this century. To quote Yogi again: “it ain’t over til it’s over.” Let’s get in the game!

McNitt is the vice president of public policy at the National Corn Growers Association.