NASDA and NAFTA Counterparts Set Work Plans for Accord

News Date May 07, 2007

On April 21, the secretaries, commissioners, directors, ministers and senior government officials from six Canadian provinces, 16 U.S. states and 20 Mexican states concluded the 17th annual meeting of the Tri-National Agricultural Accord in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The U.S. delegation was led by NASDA Secretary-Treasurer and Delaware Agriculture Secretary Michael Scuse. At the closing ceremony, Scuse said, "We have our differences but in the end we have achieved success because of our similarities. We continue to take steps to strengthen market integration. Those steps include recognizing how we must work together on issues that are important to our countries. These include animal and plant health, biosecurity, bioenergy, invasive species, rural development, and nutrition." 

The Mexican delegation was headed by the Hon. Jorge Kondo, Sinaloa secretary of rural development and president of the Mexican Association of the States Secretaries of Rural Development (AMSDA). The Canadian delegation was headed by the Hon. Pat Bell, British Columbia minister of agriculture and lands. 

The delegates conducted tri-lateral meeting sessions on rural development, harmonization, and trade remedy policy. The bi-lateral working groups met and developed work plans for the 2007-2008 year. The U.S./Mexico Accord Working Group was co-chaired by New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Miley Gonzalez and the U.S./Canada Accord Working Group was co-chaired by Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson. 

During the bi-lateral meetings, Constance Jackson, associate administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), provided a report on U.S./Mexico trade issues and Norval Francis, assistant deputy administrator, FAS Office of Country and Regional Affairs, reported on the actions of the Consultative Committee on Agriculture (CCA) for Canada. 

The Accord communique and other meeting materials can be located on NASDA's website at http://www.nasda.org/Accord/index.htm. During the meeting, the U.S. delegation extended an invitation to its Canadian and Mexican counterparts to meet in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, for the Eighteenth Meeting of the Tri-National Agricultural Accord on August 13 to 15, 2008. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak)