CONTACTS:

Luke Waring, USDEC PHONE: (703) 528-3049 FAX: 703-528-3705 lwaring@usdec.org

Iowa Senator and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley joined former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack today in Des Moines, Iowa, to discuss the benefits that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will deliver to Iowa agriculture.

Vilsack and Grassley toured the Anderson Erickson Dairy followed by a press conference where they both stressed the importance of strengthening the critical trade relationship that the U.S. shares with Mexico while opening up new opportunities for U.S. dairy in Canada through the passage of USMCA.

Vilsack as president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) detailed how the trade pact will boost trade by putting in place essential reforms that will help level the playing field for America's hard-working farmers and food manufacturers.

"Securing markets for Made-in-America agricultural products means increased economic opportunities for our dairy farmers, manufacturers and rural communities here at home," Vilsack said. "USMCA makes vital improvements to NAFTA and its passage is necessary to modernize trade in North America. According to a recent International Trade Commission Report, USMCA could mean up to $314 million in additional dairy sales."

USMCA is particularly important for Iowa, as the state shipped more than $10 billion in agricultural exports to international markets in 2017, making it the second largest farm exporting state in the country. Dairy exports alone support more than 1,800 jobs in Iowa and contribute more than $300 million to the state's economy.

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Its mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. USDEC accomplishes this through programs in market development that build global demand for U.S. dairy products, resolve market access barriers and advance industry trade policy goals. USDEC is supported by staff across the United States and overseas in Mexico, South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe. The U.S. Dairy Export Council prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, national origin, race, color, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, marital status, military status, and arrest or conviction record. www.usdec.org.