Nampa (670 KBOI News) – It still has to clear the US and Mexican Congresses, and the Canadian Parliament, but there’s a new trade agreement in North America…gone is NAFTA and in it’s place is the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
But what’s in a name? NNU Economist Dr. Peter Crabb says it’s not really free trade, it’s more like managed trade.
But he says, in theory, it could be good for some sectors, like the dairy industry.
“The current tariffs on US dairy into Canada are currently high, this would reduce them so they would be eligible to compete,” said Crabb. “But the long-running protection Canadian dairy farmers have received means there’s a lot of capacity on those farms.”
Also, he says Canada isn’t that big of a consumer market, so if American dairy products are allowed into Canada, there aren’t that many people to buy them.
He says it remains to be seen what will happen in Congress, but he says he expects something to happen before the November 6th election.
