NAFTA redo takes backseat to other issues
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While an ambitious end-of-year deadline remains for completion of the retooled North American Free Trade Agreement, the issue took a backseat to farm labor, tax reform, nutrition policy and other topics during the United Fresh Produce Association’s Washington Conference.
Because United Fresh members have different views on the topic and because the negotiations are in the hands of President Donald Trump and not Congress, Tom Stenzel, president and CEO of United Fresh, said the group didn’t want to make it a focal point of the group’s lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill during the Sept. 18-20 event.
In remarks before Washington Conference participants marched on Capitol Hill, Stenzel said the fresh produce industry has always been supportive of free and fair trade.
“On the big picture we are very strongly supportive of trade and trade agreements, but there are some differences of opinion within our organization and within our industry on some of the of the particulars as NAFTA goes forward in negotiations,” he said. “We didn’t want to ask everybody to toe the line and try to deliver the same message on this.”
Stenzel advised attendees to answer questions from lawmakers on NAFTA according to their own company’s perspective on the issue.
A Sept. 19 workshop on NAFTA featured Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, assistant U.S. Trade Representative for agricultural affairs and commodity policy, and Angela Ellard, staff director/chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee trade subcommittee. The session was moderated by Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy for United Fresh.
Speaking after the NAFTA session, Mike Stuart, president of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association said the panel delivered a good summary of the current state of NAFTA negotiations but didn’t delve deeply into specifics, such as the concept of creating antidumping protections for seasonal domestic producers of perishable crops.
“Angela (Ellard) mentioned that was an issue that was out there and that she, with Ways and Means, was trying to see if there was a way to find some common ground,” he said.
The next round of NAFTA negotiations starts Sept. 23 in Ottawa, followed by another round in Washington D.C. in October, Lauritsen said.
Charles Wingard, vice president of field operations for Walter P. Rawl and Sons, Pelion, S.C., and chairman of the government relations council for United Fresh, said NAFTA is more of an issue now for the Trump administration rather than Congress.
“NAFTA is going to be a tough issue for this industry to figure out where to come down at,” he said.
