WASHINGTON — Canada approved the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement on March 13.

The United States, Mexico and Canada concluded negotiations for a new trade agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in September 2018 and on Jan. 29, US President Donald Trump signed the new trade deal.

Mexico passed the agreement in June 2019.

Canada is the last of the three countries to approve the deal.

Under the USMCA, all food and agriculture products that have had zero tariffs under the NAFTA will continue to enjoy zero tariff access to the partner nations’ markets.

“USMCA is a great victory for America’s agriculture industry, and I am pleased to see Canada’s Parliament approved the deal today,” said US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “USMCA locks in and expands access to our neighbors to the North and South. I thank President Trump for negotiating this deal and for always supporting America’s farmers and ranchers. We will continue to work with both Canada and Mexico in implementing this agreement.”

The US Grains Council (USGC) applauded the final country signatory added to the new trade agreement.

“Our leaders and members are thrilled to see the completion of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement's approval process and look forward to it entering into force,” said Darren Armstrong, chairman of USGC. “Throughout the negotiations that produced USMCA, the council has worked closely within our industry, with our customers — particularly in Mexico — and with the negotiating governments to ensure the needs of the US grains sector were considered and the new agreement continued the success we experienced together under NAFTA. We welcomed the chance to bring Mexican buyers to the United States, US farm reporters to Mexico and talk with so many stakeholders about the importance of our relationships with Canada and Mexico.

“All told, we believe this agreement will solidify our most important and strategic trade relationships with our closest neighbors and best customers, and it will position our industry to continue to grow with our friends and partners in Mexico and Canada.”

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Canada and Mexico are the United States’ first and second largest export markets for food and agricultural products, totaling more than $39.7 billion in food and agricultural exports in 2018. These exports support more than 325,000 US jobs.