After reports were released that President Trump was considering pulling the U.S. out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the president of Mexico and prime minister of Canada contacted the White House to request renegotiating the agreement, The New York Times reported.

Trump confirmed on Twitter that he agreed to renegotiation, then added “…subject to the fact that if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA. Relationships are good — deal very possible!” 

The announcement followed after the Trump administration announced it would impose a tariff on Canadian softwood lumber in retaliation for what it said was unfair treatment of American dairy farmers, says The New York Times.

Agriculture groups have denounced the possibility of withdrawing from NAFTA, warning of the negative impacts it would have on farmers.

“Withdrawing from NAFTA would be disastrous for American agriculture,” said National Corn Growers Assn. president Wesley Spurlock. “We cannot disrupt trade with two of our top trade partners and allies. This decision will cost America’s farmers and ranchers markets that we will never recover.”

IN OTHER NO-TILL NEWS…

• Former governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue became the 31st Secretary of the USDA. The U.S. Senate confirmed Secretary Perdue by a vote of 87-to-11 on April 24.
• EPA announced that administrator Scott Pruitt signed an order denying a petition that sought to ban chlorpyrifos. Under the previous administration, the agency had proposed to revoke all food residue tolerances for the pesticide in October 2015.
• …