USMCA Review: Protecting Frozen Food Supply Chains
AFFI represents a diverse membership — including U.S. fruit and vegetable growers, processors, and frozen food manufacturers that rely on cross-border ingredient sourcing — and is uniquely positioned to advocate for a balanced trade outcome. AFFI supports the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) continuation under a “review and improve” framework that strengthens the agreement without threatening the supply chains that support American food manufacturing.
AFFI’s policy priorities for the USMCA review include preserving duty-free treatment for USMCA-qualified products; strengthening rules of origin and anti-circumvention provisions to prevent transshipment of third-country products; maintaining stability for frozen and perishable shipments; and continued partnership with CBP to monitor import surges that may disrupt sensitive domestic produce markets.
Pursue targeted improvements — including stronger rules of origin, anti-circumvention measures, and enhanced customs efficiency — without reopening the core structure of the agreement.
Background
USMCA, which replaced North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020, governs nearly $2 trillion in annual North American trade. The 2026 Joint Review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement is the first test of the agreement’s built-in six-year review mechanism. If all three countries agree to continue, the agreement extends automatically for 16 years; if not, it enters annual review — injecting uncertainty into highly integrated supply chains.
USMCA is critical to the frozen food sector. In 2024, trilateral trade in frozen products totaled $8.3 billion. Frozen food manufacturing depends on seamless, year-round cross-border supply chains, with ingredients often sourced in Mexico and Canada, frozen at origin, and processed in U.S. facilities. Disruptions to this flow would directly threaten American manufacturing jobs and increase costs for consumers.
The Solution
As Congress and the Administration engage in the first-ever formal review of USMCA the AFFI supports a “review and improve” approach — one that preserves duty-free regional trade and supply chain stability for U.S. frozen food manufacturers while ensuring fair market conditions for American growers.