Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says she told top officials in the Trump Administration “it would be devastating” for Midwest farmers and the ag economy if the North American Free Trade Agreement is abandoned.
Reynolds flew to Washington last week to meet with Vice President Mike Pence and the secretaries of agriculture and commerce. Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross suggested farm groups and agribusinesses were exaggerating the impact of ending NAFTA. Reynolds says she directly addressed Ross during the meeting and made the case on behalf of farmers.
Three other Republican governors were part of the meeting with the vice president and cabinet secretaries. The latest round of NAFTA negotiations among representatives from the U.S., Canada and Mexico wrapped up last Friday. Negotiators have finalized only two of the expected 30 chapters in the new NAFTA deal. The next round of talks is set to begin in Toronto in late January.
