WASHINGTON – Tomorrow, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) will meet with Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross – along with several members of the Senate Commerce Committee – regarding the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to farmers, ranchers and manufactures in Kansas and across the country.

Last month, Sen. Moran sent a letter to Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) to request the committee continue to engage with Secretary Ross on trade and the direction of NAFTA negotiations.

“With the threat of issuing a notice of withdrawal from NAFTA being openly discussed as a negotiating tactic, it would benefit members of the committee to hear directly from Secretary Ross about his views on the ongoing negotiations and the role of U.S. agriculture in those discussions,” Sen. Moran stated in the letter. 

In addition, Sen. Moran recently signed a bipartisan letter to Secretary Ross asking the administration to conduct a robust economic analysis to evaluate how any changes to NAFTA would affect changes to the nation’s crop and livestock sectors.

“It is imperative that before any changes are made to NAFTA, or any other free trade agreement, that economic analysis that illustrates the impact on the full supply chain of the industries involved be shared. As such, we request an economic analysis that examines and evaluates the impacts to crop and livestock sectors as a result of any change to NAFTA,” the senators wrote.

To read the full letter, click here.

Last month, Sen. Moran sent an open letter to farmers and ranchers regarding the threat of NAFTA withdrawal and urged them to advocate for sound trade policy. The letter was first published in Agri-Pulse and encourages the agriculture community to share their concerns with the administration about the importance of trade and their ability to sell what they produce around the world.

“While tax reform dominates the discussion in Washington, D.C., U.S. agriculture must not allow its focus to be diverted from the equally important issue of agricultural trade. Reforming our nation’s tax code is critical to growing the economy and can benefit all Americans,” Sen. Moran wrote. “However, there will be little to no benefit of tax reform to farmers and ranchers if their ability to sell what they produce around the world is diminished.”

To read the full letter, click here.

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