The non-NAFTA agreement reached with Mexico is going to benefit all types of Texas businesses, but agriculture is likely to be at the top of the list of beneficiaries, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Laramie Adams with the Texas Farm Bureau says a large amount of Texas grown and raised commodities are sold internationally, with much of the business for Texas products, being in Mexico.
"Trade is vitally important, and having stability with the trade market is vitally important ot our farmers and ranchers," she said.
Open trade relations are also important for other sectors, like manufacturing. It is generally believed that without the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was initialed in San Antonio, Toyota with its thousands of jobs and dozens of suppliers, would not have built its truck plant in San Antonio.
"We rely very heavily on trade with Mexico, and we are hopeful that this deal will enable us to export even more products to Mexico," Adams said.
The boom in free trade in the nearly thirty years since NAFTA was approved has been a major boost to the Texas economy, and helped make Texas by far the largest exporter of products in the USA, and one of the largest in the world.
Free trade is also critical to the local manufacturing and energy industries.Adams says the next goal is for the President to finalize a similar agreement with Canada.
Adams says Canada is another vital market for Texas agricultural products, especially the struggling dairy industry.
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