Business Groups Urge Congress to Pass USMCA

Hundreds of business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, urged Congress to pass the new NAFTA, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, "as soon as possible," in a letter sent July 23. The letter was signed by trade groups from many sectors, goods and services, importers and exporters and sectors that rely on both, as well as local chambers of commerce from every state. "U.S. manufacturers export more made-in-America manufactured goods to our North American neighbors than they do to the next 11 largest export markets combined, and the two countries account for nearly one-third of U.S. agricultural exports," the groups wrote. "They are also the top two export destinations for U.S. small and medium-size businesses, more than 120,000 of which sell their goods and services to Canada and Mexico."

The coalition's letter said that the NAFTA rewrite's digital trade chapter "sets a new, high standard, as the agreement does in areas from intellectual property protection to trade in services."