Highlights
- Gov. Katie Hobbs publicly backed extending the USMCA through 2042, calling free trade critical to Arizona's agricultural economy.
- Arizona exported $1.1 billion in agricultural goods to Mexico and Canada in 2025, led by $461 million in vegetables and melons.
- Hobbs said the U.S. trade representative's office signaled tariffs would remain even under a renewed agreement, a prospect she called concerning.
- The governor also flagged groundwater use as a parallel pressure point, citing the pending Fondomonte lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs came out Friday in support of extending the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, telling agricultural stakeholders that the free-trade framework underpins a $1.1 billion annual export market the state cannot afford to lose. The remarks, also covered by the Arizona Capitol Times and the Tucson Star, came as a statutory deadline approaches: all three USMCA signatories must decide this year whether to extend the agreement through 2042 or allow it to sunset in 2036.
The governor's concern is not whether the deal gets extended but what it looks like if it does. After a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Hobbs said the signal from that office was that tariffs would remain part of any renewed USMCA. "That's concerning for everyone," she said.
The numbers behind that concern are substantial. According to a fact sheet from Farmers for Free Trade, Arizona shipped $461 million in vegetables and melons and $171 million in fruits and tree nuts to Mexico and Canada in 2025, part of a total $1.1 billion agricultural export figure. The trade runs both directions: Arizona Commerce Authority data for 2024 shows the state imported nearly $2.1 billion in melons and vegetables and $487 million in fruits and tree nuts from those same partners.
Casa Grande dairy farmer Jim Boyle put the longer arc in context. When NAFTA, the USMCA's predecessor, was being negotiated in 1994, national dairy exports totaled $250,000. They now stand at $4 billion, a figure that includes cheese and nonfat dry milk. Boyle argued that tariffs undercut that trajectory, saying U.S. farmers produce more food than the country can consume and depend on export markets to place the surplus.
State Agriculture Director Paul Brierley framed the trade relationship as a seasonal complement rather than a competitive threat. Arizona ships cantaloupes, tree nuts, and dates north to Canada during summer months and receives processed foods and fresh and frozen pork in return. On water efficiency, Brierley cited a study showing Arizona generates $1,000 in agricultural output from 1.2 acre-feet of Colorado River water, compared with 7.2 acre-feet required in Upper Basin states.
Groundwater is the more contested variable. Hobbs acknowledged that some uses of Arizona groundwater may not be appropriate, pointing to her cancellation of a state land lease held by Fondomonte, a company that was growing alfalfa to feed dairy cattle in the Middle East. Fondomonte continues farming on private land, and Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed suit against the company in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleging it is creating a nuisance through the volume of groundwater it pumps. That case remains pending.
Brierley said the state should not dictate crop choices, arguing that input costs, production costs, and market signals are sufficient discipline. He said water constraints, if they materialize, should be resolved by farmers deciding how to deploy the resource most productively, not by government mandate.
The USMCA review decision is expected before year-end.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- azcapitoltimes.com retrieved 11/05/2026 21:36
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 11/05/2026 21:36. Every claim traces to a source.
