One industry that has thrived under 23-year-old NAFTA is the poultry market. Mexico and Canada together account for almost 40 percent of the American broiler exports.
“NAFTA has been a godsend for U.S. poultry,” Kevin Brosch, international trade counsel for the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, testified at the House hearing.
Similarly, the beef industry lobby views NAFTA as a good thing for the industry.
“Quite frankly, it is difficult to improve upon duty-free, unlimited access to Canada and Mexico,” testified National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Kendal Frazier.
However, that positive take on NAFTA isn’t shared by all the agribusiness players.
“While our friends in the grain and meat industry have fared well with NAFTA, the fresh fruit and vegetable industry has been taking it on the cuff, from the standpoint of unfair competition coming into the country,” Reggie Brown, a representative from the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange and Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, told the House panel.
Specifically, Brown said NAFTA is hurting the U.S. specialty crop industry (everything from berries and tomatoes to watermelons). He said the situation isn’t just hurting Florida growers but other states where specialty crops grow.
According to Brown, Mexico is subsidizing its domestic fresh tomato industry at the expense of U.S. farmers and “dumping” fresh produce into the U.S. market at very low prices. He wants the U.S. to fix the problem.
“We are basically an industry under assault,” he said. “We have family farmers being forced out of business by unfair trade practices.”
