WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today held a committee business meeting to markup H.R. 5430, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (USMCA).

“After months of discussions between members of Congress and the administration, I am glad our committee has done its part to advance this important, bipartisan legislation,” said Risch. “The USMCA strengthens North American trade relations and the international competitiveness of our country and our two biggest trading partners. It is in our national interest that our closest neighbors and trade partners continue to chart a path toward prosperity, which USMCA facilitates.

“Free and fair trade is vital for Idaho’s agricultural economy, and the USMCA will provide our farmers and ranchers with a trade agreement that opens markets for commodities like dairy products, while providing much needed certainty. I look forward to voting on this critical legislation in the full Senate soon.”

Text of the USMCA can be found here.

Background: Free and fair trade is vital for Idaho’s $4 billion export industry. Canada and Mexico are Idaho’s number one and five trading partners respectively, with the two countries comprising nearly half of Idaho’s roughly $2 billion food and agricultural export industry. The USMCA will provide Idaho farmers, ranchers, and small businesses with a trade agreement that opens new trading pathways while maintaining existing channels for top exports including potatoes, canola, and beef cattle.

# # #