December 05,2019

ICYMI: Obama Ag Secretary on USMCA: “Get It Done”

Former USDA Secretary: “No Reason Not To Get It Done Today, No Reason To Wait For Tomorrow, No Reason To Wait For 2020. Let’s Get It Done Now.”

Ex-ag secretary Vilsack on USMCA: 'Get it done'
By Matthew Weaver
December 4, 2019
 
A trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada is likely to pass Congress with little problem if political leaders pursue it, agricultural leaders say.
 
“Very, very few” unresolved issues remain between members of Congress and the administration in finalizing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, said Tom Vilsack, former U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary and now president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Council.
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“This is something that can be done, needs to be done,” Vilsack said. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is working to create the sense of a deadline and push the agreement forward, Vilsack said.
 
“Congress works oftentimes when it is confronted with a deadline,” Vilsack said. “If it’s one or two issues, then get it done. No reason not to get it done today, no reason to wait for tomorrow, no reason to wait for 2020. Let’s get it done now.”
 
Vilsack spoke during a Dec. 3 phone call hosted by the nonprofit organization Farmers for Free Trade.
 
More than 2,200 farmers signed a letter asking Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to quickly pass USMCA, according to the organization.
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“Since it’s going to get done, why not get it done now?” Vilsack asked. “Why not just finish the work and get it done so the farmers and workers, the people out in the countryside whose livelihoods depend on this, have the confidence and reassurance that next year is going to be better than this year?”