Iowa farm leaders and lawmakers last week applauded the signing of a new trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). All three parties— Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Congress — must still approve the agreement, which is designed to provide better access for dairy, poultry and other U.S. ag products. But more importantly for Iowa farmers, the new agreement will provide more market certainty in an extremely unsettled trade climate, the farm leaders said.

The new agreement, which will be called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), is a “positive step forward” for trade, said Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.

“The key is that all three countries...