Cummins CEO Tom Linebarger, who chairs the Business Roundtable Trade and International Committee, released a statement on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement after the Business Roundtable hosted President Donald Trump at its quarterly board meeting on March 21. “The CEO members of Business Roundtable, who lead companies with more than 15 million employees, strongly support congressional passage of USMCA implementing legislation this year. We stand united to preserve and modernize North American trade, which supports over 12 million jobs and a strong U.S. economy," he said. The Business Roundtable will work to build the necessary support to pass that bill, he added.
USMCA
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement is a free trade agreement between the three countries, also known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC in Mexico. Replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020, the agreement contains a unique sunset provision where, after six years (in 2026), any of the three parties may decide not to continue the agreement in its current form and begin a period of up to 10 years where USMCA provisions may be renegotiated.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who was ranking member on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a prominent NAFTA foe, are soliciting signatures for a letter they plan to send later this month on the importance of including Mexican labor reforms in a new NAFTA, now called the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement.
Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., said that with an approval rate of just under 6 percent for steel exclusion requests when domestic firms objected, "it really looks like somebody's finger is on the scale." In a sit-down with International Trade Today, Walorski explained how what started with complaints from 10 businesses in her district -- which is heavy with steel-consuming RV manufacturers -- has made her office the place for companies around the country to share their problems with exclusions. "We knew this is probably what was going to happen," she said of the exclusion process that favors domestic producers.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer heard dozens of questions about the new NAFTA and the fate of Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum from about 50 members in the New Democrats caucus, but specifics were few, even as one called it a "good, candid conversation."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that while the Democrats have real concerns on how the new NAFTA "will affect trade, how it's going to affect the environment, how it's going to affect prescription drug availability," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has credibility in Congress, and will be listened to. Lighthizer is scheduled to address all Democrats on March 13, the first time he has met with the full caucus.
While U.S. textile manufacturers and apparel industries “have expressed overall support” for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the two sectors disagree on several key provisions, including certain rules of origin and enforcement procedures, according to a March 5 report by the Congressional Research Service.
The Canadian Minister-Counselor for Trade said negotiators on the new NAFTA solved the roster problem in the old Chapter 20 of NAFTA, which was that any country could block the appointment of panelists in a dispute (see 1807230029). "That particular issue is a dramatic improvement from NAFTA 1 and NAFTA 2," Colin Bird said March 8 during an International Trade Update conference hosted by Georgetown's law school. President Donald Trump said on March 8 about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that "we’ll be submitting [it] to Congress very shortly," and said the deal is "a great deal for the United States."
Eight of the 10 members of Arizona's congressional delegation, including both senators, have signed a letter to the Commerce Secretary arguing that the suspension of the Mexico tomato agreement is not in the national interest. "We encourage the Administration to continue to craft agricultural trade policy that seeks to strengthen the industry nationally, not one that is calibrated around regional or seasonal interests," the March 1 letter said. They encouraged Commerce to revise the tomato suspension agreement rather than terminate it without a replacement, because the latter move would create uncertainty in the supply chain and could trigger retaliation against agriculture exports.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 25 - March 1 in case they were missed.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association wants NAFTA to stay in place while Congress is working on ratifying its replacement, it announced March 4. "More than 200,000 American jobs in our industry are supported by NAFTA. We are calling on Congress to approve the USMCA this year and for the Administration to quickly and seamlessly implement it,” said Rick Helfenbein, AAFA president and CEO. The organization had previously joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-organized USMCA Coalition (see 1902250024) to push for passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to replace NAFTA.