Food & Agriculture Sectors Support Over 950,000 State Jobs & Depend On Trade With Canada & Mexico
(Jefferson City, MO) – The Missouri chapter of Americans for Farmers & Families (AFF), a coalition working to ensure President Donald Trump and congressional leaders understand the importance of preserving and modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to America’s agricultural and retail economies, today announced its formation. The local chapter is part of a broad-based national group of more than 50 organizations representing growers, refiners, producers, transporters, retailers, and consumers, and aims to undertake a robust educational campaign to highlight the positive impacts of NAFTA to the state and the country.
“We strongly support NAFTA because it has created billion-dollar export markets for U.S. beef in Canada and Mexico,” said Mike Deering, executive vice-president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. “We hope that the current NAFTA negotiations will focus on areas that truly need improvement and will conclude as soon as possible.”
In 2016, Missouri’s total food and agricultural exports totaled $2.2 billion, with $1.4 billion going to NAFTA partners. The pork industry is of particular importance to the state’s economy, and a bad NAFTA deal could impact the industry particularly hard.
“With over 25 percent of U.S. pork finding an out of country destination, maintaining and growing trade is of utmost importance. A sound NAFTA agreement is critical for the U.S. pork industry and agriculture in general,” said Don Nikodim, executive director of the Missouri Pork Association.
Since taking effect in 1994, the benefits of NAFTA have spread beyond America’s agricultural community, helping grow over 43 million jobs, including more than 950,000 in Missouri and earning workers approximately $39 billion in wages. However, it is rural communities that have been among the biggest winners under NAFTA, the very same areas that powered then-candidate Trump’s victory in 2016.
Ten percent of all land farmed in the United States produces exports to Canada and Mexico. These exports have more than quadrupled under the trade agreement and now represent 25 percent of American exports. In addition, NAFTA has benefited all American consumers by helping keep grocery prices down. NAFTA has opened markets to America’s farmers, grown domestic jobs and has supported $127 billion in annual economic activity. Under NAFTA, the U.S. food and agriculture industries support more than 43 million jobs throughout the nation.
For more information, visit https://americansforfarmersandfamilies.com/.
To download our state economic fact sheet, click here.
