Trade issues top Womack’s work during district tour

Arkansas businesses throughout U.S. Rep. Steve Womack’s (R-AR) Third Congressional District last week expressed their concerns to the congressman regarding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“Trade is vitally important to Arkansas’s economy and the businesses that support jobs and growth in our communities,” Rep. Womack said on April 26. “I appreciated hearing directly from companies, entrepreneurs and workers about their trade priorities and challenges.”

Rep. Womack met with companies in the manufacturing, agricultural and transportation sectors to discuss trade negotiations, tariffs and economic development issues during what was dubbed as AR-3 Trade Week.

The lawmaker plans to share what he learned with federal lawmakers on Capitol Hill and other stakeholders as international trade negotiations continue between the countries.

“These firsthand insights will be important to informing policy ideas and moving the USMCA and other deals forward,” said Rep. Womack on Friday.

For example, Rep. Womack met with the representatives of Arkansas-based companies such as Lycus Ltd., Sky Genie, CreekKooler, and Metova, who recently returned from a trade mission to Mexico. They discussed the status of the USMCA in Congress, state exports to Mexico and Canada, e-commerce and intellectual property issues, among other topics.

Rep. Womack also met with U.S. Ambassador Gregg Doud, chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), at Tyson Foods for a briefing on trade issues and gave a speech to farmers and ranchers at the Arkansas Farm Bureau Policy Summit.

The congressman also discussed tariffs with Acting Consul General of Canada Douglas George, who presented Rep. Womack with the Maple Leaf Export award, which recognized his home state district for exporting more than a quarter billion dollars in goods and services to Canada.

Additionally, ABF Freight and ArcBest executives met with Rep. Womack on the impact that trade with Canada and Mexico has on their companies and the trucking, transportation and logistics sectors.

According to the lawmaker’s staff, the companies all shared that fair and strong trade deals addressing tariff issues are vital to their economic growth and development and that a vote from Congress on the USMCA should be prioritized.