Negotiating objectives regarding modernization of NAFTA - written submission of Cargill

Cargill | 12 June 2017

Negotiating objectives regarding modernization of North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico (USTR-2017-0006) - written submission of Cargill

Cargill appreciates the opportunity to provide comments on the negotiating objectives for the upcoming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Cargill is a Minnesota-based provider of food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Our purpose is to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Founded at the end of the American Civil War, our company is a true American success story that, growing from a single grain storage facility in 1865 into one of the largest privately owned businesses in the world, directly employing 150,000 people in 70 countries.

In the United States, Cargill directly employs more than 37,500 people at facilities across 40 states, with more than $13 billion in capital invested to date. Our primary business activities include the origination, storage and handling of grain and oilseeds, production of beef, poultry and egg products; animal nutrition products and services; food ingredients, including starches, sweeteners, malt, oils, and chocolate products; as well as salt and deicing technologies and plant-based bio-industrial products.

In Canada, we employ more than 8,000 people across 11 businesses, with locations from British Colombia to Quebec. Our primary business activities include the production of beef and poultry products; animal nutrition products and services; food ingredients, including starches, sweeteners, malt, oils, and chocolate products; and the origination and processing of commodities, such as canola. In Fiscal Year 2016, Cargill Canada imported more than $560 million in goods from the United States.

In Mexico, we employ 1,700 people at 30 facilities across 13 states. We provide services across the agri- food value chain, including the origination, storage and handling of grain and oilseeds, the production of food and beverage ingredients, the manufacturing of animal feed and premixes, and the sale of beef and turkey products. We also provide financial and risk management services to the Mexican market, where we have more than $600 million in gross total investment to date. In Fiscal Year 2016, Cargill Mexico imported approximately $1.3 billion in goods from the United States.

Cargill supports trade agreements that foster the interconnectedness of our food system, improve global food security, and reinforce the importance of rules in the global trading system. In the 23 years since its enactment, NAFTA has helped to open North American markets, connect supply chains, and provide consumers, both in the United States and abroad, with high-quality, safe, affordable food. Over the past 20 years, the U.S. food and agriculture industry has also changed, through new innovations and greater efficiencies. We believe the renegotiation of NAFTA provides an opportunity to reflect these developments in a modernized and improved agreement that more fully benefits farmers, food producers, manufacturers and consumers going forward.

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source : Cargill

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