Beef Trade

The North American Free Trade Agreement allows American farmers to benefit from free trade with Mexico and Canada.

The National Cattlemens Beef Association publicly supports NAFTA. Director of International Trade and Market Access, Kent Bacus says they are hopeful something with NAFTA will be finished this summer.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association publicly supports NAFTA, but two other cattle groups, which are smaller than the NCBA, are vehemently opposed to the deal.

R-CALF USA and the U.S. Cattlemen's Association claim that NAFTA is detrimental for American ranchers because the U.S. has a trade deficit in beef and cattle with Canada and Mexico.

In a May news release the U.S. Cattlemen's Association said America "imported $2.25 billion more in beef and cattle than it exported among NAFTA countries" in 2016.

That's compared to a surplus in beef trade of $226.7 million in 1994, when NAFTA was implemented.