Statement by Jim Bair, President & CEO

“U.S. apple growers across the nation today are applauding the Senate for getting the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) over the finish line with overwhelming bipartisan support. Senate passage of the USMCA is significant for the U.S. Apple Association and its members as Mexico and Canada represent our top two export markets, totaling nearly a half-billion dollars in annual sales.

“Throughout USMCA negotiations during the past year, USApple members have rolled up their sleeves and carried out unprecedented advocacy efforts to help secure ratification of the agreement. The USMCA, like its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), is good for apples. Under NAFTA, apple exports to Mexico quadrupled and those to Canada doubled. Maintaining the apple industry’s important trading partnerships with Mexico and Canada under the USMCA has been a top priority for the apple industry. We now look forward to President Trump signing the agreement into law.”

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