Former USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator Warns of Unintended Consequences of NAFTA Changes

The U.S. trade representative's proposal to simplify bringing antidumping and countervailing duty complaints on produce could have several unintended consequences, according to Darci Vetter, a former chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. One of the U.S. proposals for NAFTA 2.0 is to allow producers in a certain region -- say, Florida tomato growers -- bring an AD/CVD complaint during their crop season, rather than requiring that 51 percent of all growers nationwide sign on to the complaint (see 1709130031). Vetter spoke March 8 at a Georgetown Law School event.

If Canada and Mexico agreed to this, there would be a jump in AD/CVD cases, Vetter believes -- but not just by American producers against Mexican products. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander," she said, and Canadian producers would likely ask for protection against American crops. Vetter said Mexico would find this change very hard to swallow -- so much so, it might kill the deal. She said that Mexican farmers had a very painful adjustment after NAFTA took effect, but one area of Mexican agriculture that thrived after NAFTA was fruit and vegetables, she said. If they would face seasonal duties, that "creates a very different value proposition for an entire sector in Mexico."