Heitkamp Speaks with Canadian and Mexican Ambassadors to U.S., Stresses Need for Strong Trade Relationships to Support ND Industries

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp in separate calls spoke with the Canadian and Mexican Ambassadors to the United States to continue to stress the importance of strong trade relationships with the two countries, which are North Dakota’s largest foreign markets.

In her conversations with the Ambassadors, Heitkamp pushed for a de-escalation of the current trade dispute and reiterated the desire of North Dakota producers to sell their products to Canadian and Mexican consumers. The conversations were a continuation of Heitkamp’s outreach to Canada and Mexico’s ambassadors to protect markets for North Dakota goods at a time when tariffs and the NAFTA renegotiation are causing foreign buyers of American goods to reconsider whether the U.S. is a stable supplier of commodities. Heitkamp recently coordinated a meeting between North Dakota farmers and ranchers and the Mexican ambassador to help maintain their trade relationship amid the uncertainty caused by the administration’s trade war and NAFTA renegotiation.

According to the Chambers of Commerce in North Dakota, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, trade and investment with Canada supports 28,500 jobs in North Dakota. Manitoba imports close to $1 billion of goods from North Dakota, while Saskatchewan imports more than $1.5 billion

“When 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States, farmers, ranchers, energy producers, and manufacturers must have access to foreign markets to succeed and thrive,” Heitkamp said. “This trade war has been a self-inflicted wound on our rural economy, which the administration acknowledged this week with its proposal to spend $12 billion to try to mitigate the pain agriculture is feeling. Instead of Band-Aids, we need smart trade policies and strong relationships, especially with Canada and Mexico, which are our largest trading partners. I’ve continued to try to bring both sides together so we can end this misguided trade war, maintain relationships with Mexico and Canada for our producers to try maintain their contracts, and build on the successful relationships we have with our neighbors to the north and south.”