Government Affairs Insights on Floral

September 21, 2026

U.S.-Mexico to soon engage in a fourth round of bilateral trade negotiations:

The United States and Mexico are expected to begin a fourth round of trade negotiations on September 28–29. The upcoming talks follow a reported phone call last week between President Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that seemed to indicate a bilateral trade agreement may be close. The previous round, held in Mexico City in July between President Sheinbaum and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer, with negotiations covering automobile manufacturing, agriculture, labor, and economic security. From a floral lens, Mexico ranks fourth in floral production, behind Canada.

Senate Ag Farm Bill 2.0 advances out of Committee:

On September 16, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry reconvened and favorably reported the Agricultural Act of 2026 out of the Committee by a 12-11 party line vote. This action advanced the so-called Farm Bill 2.0 to the full Senate for consideration and concludes the markup that Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) indefinitely recessed on August 6, 2026. Last week’s business meeting featured unexpected debate when Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) attempted to offer a new amendment targeting California’s Proposition 12. Chairman Boozman ruled the amendment out of order on procedural grounds, noting that the committee had formally closed Title XII during the initial August markup. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) opposed the chairman’s refusal to reopen the title to consider the measure. Furthermore, Democratic members used the reconvened session to reiterate their opposition to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) state administrative cost-sharing provision under current law. They continued to advocate for a two-year implementation delay of the provision rather than the one-year delay included in the bill. The bill that passed out of the Committee includes floral industry priorities such as funding for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), the Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program, and a framework for future specialty crop ad hoc assistance that would include floriculture. Now, both chambers look to each other as they work to pre-conference the bill with each other during the October recess in the hopes of year-end passage during the lame duck session. You can watch a recording of the business meeting here.

New retaliatory tariffs on Canadian and U.S. goods take effect after failed trade talks:

On September 8, Canada’s retaliatory tariffs, announced on August 25, went into effect on $27.6 billion worth of U.S. goods including steel, dairy products, agricultural equipment and more. This move followed the Trump Administration’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods after the United States and Canada failed to reach a trade agreement. President Trump first announced the proposed tariffs on July 20, invoking Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the President to impose duties of up to 50% on imports from a foreign country to offset disadvantages or discrimination affecting U.S. commerce. On August 18, President Trump followed up on the issue and announced on Truth Social that he would postpone the proposed 50% tariff on Canadian goods for three days, shifting the effective date from August 19 to August 22 to allow additional time for U.S.-Canada trade negotiations. Unlike Section 301 duties, Section 338 does not provide broad exemptions for USMCA-compliant goods, meaning floriculture products are subject to the tariff as enacted. The two countries failed to reach an agreement before the deadline in August, which ultimately allowed for the duties to officially take effect. On August 25, Canada announced new retaliatory tariffs of 15%, 20%, and 50% on products drawn from those targeted by U.S. Section 338 and Section 232 tariffs, with individual product rates based on the matching U.S. rate for the same goods. For the official list of U.S. products subject to retaliatory tariffs, see Canada’s official announcement here.

After Canada’s tariffs on U.S. goods officially took effect on September 8, President Trump signed five new proclamations limiting certain Canadian alcohol, motorcycle, and dairy imports and revising the products subject to Section 338 duties. The proposed import bans will take effect on September 29, 2026, with the new product additional and removals under Section 338 will take effect on September 15, 2026. You can find the White House’s fact sheet with references to the new Trump Administration proclamations here. To date, substantive trade agreement negotiations between the two countries appear to have reached an impasse.

Momentum in U.S.-Colombia trade talks continues:

During the week of September 7, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Colombia to meet with Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella to discuss matters of national security, trade and immigration. In a post on X, Secretary Rubio described the recent bilateral negotiations as positive, stating, “It’s a new era for one of our most historic partnerships.” This follows an August 20 update from U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer, where the Ambassador announced that the U.S. and Colombia were exploring a reciprocal trade agreement after a productive meeting with Colombian Minister of Trade Mauricio Gómez Amín. Including cut flowers in any trade agreement would be particularly important to the U.S. floriculture industry as Colombia supplies approximately 60% to 70% of all U.S. cut flower imports. More details are expected in the coming weeks and months, though no official timeline for the proposed reciprocal trade agreement has been announced at this time.

On August 20, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer announced in a post on X that the U.S. and Colombia are discussing a potential reciprocal trade agreement following a productive meeting with Colombia’s Minister of Trade, Mauricio Gómez Amín. In the post, Greer further affirms that his office is, “committed to strengthening our economic and trade ties, including through the expeditious negotiation of an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade.” From a floral lens, Colombia is the leading supplier of imported cut flowers to the United States, accounting for roughly 60% to 70% of all cut flower imports. More details are expected in the coming weeks and months, though no official timeline for the proposed reciprocal trade agreement has been announced at this time.

Government Affairs Insights on Floral

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