By Russ Wiles | The Republic
Arizona’s $3.7 billion agriculture sector faces lower exports and job losses if NAFTA is scuttled or if recent trade tensions worsen, industry experts say.
If a full-scale trade war breaks out, consumers here potentially could face higher costs at the grocery store for produce and other items.
Representatives of the U.S., Canada and Mexico have been meeting for months to renegotiate terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement. President Donald Trump elevated trade tensions to new levels this week, signing proclamations Thursday imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Arizona is far from a top agricultural state but nevertheless sold $881 million worth of farm and ranch products to other nations last year, according to a conservative estimate of exports from the U.S. Commerce Department. Canada and Mexico, America’s two partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement, bought 39 percent and 22 percent of the total, respectively.
