U.S. Chamber of Commerce continues to make the case for enacting USCMA

The United States Chamber of Commerce this week continued to ring the bell for Congress to pass the United States Canada Mexico Agreement (USMCA).

As previously noted in LM, USMCA, in various ways, is actually based on the same rules and procedures and most of the same products, as the current North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA), which took effect in 1994. Analysts say that there are some great environmental and labor regulation improvements, and it incentivizes domestic production of cars and trucks. It’s also the first free trade agreement that has ever included intellectual property protections, which are very timely given the current trade wars that were triggered by the alleged theft of American intellectual property by China and other nations.

In a media conference call this week, Neil Bradley, U.S. Chamber of Commerce executive vice president and chief policy officer, said that time is of the essence for Congress to move forward and enact USCMA sooner than later.

In setting the stage for the need to pass USCMA, Bradley noted that the September edition of the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Report on Business posted its lowest reading in more than ten years, which he said extends the trend the U.S. Chamber started noticing at the end of the summer.

“We started to see weakness on the business side of the economy, in contrast to the consumer side, which runs the risk of an economic downturn and, if not sufficiently corrected, ultimately there is the possibility of a recession,” he said.

Bradley pointed to a recent opinion piece in The Washington Post penned by U.S. Chamber CEO Tom Donohue, called on Congress to avoid exacerbating uncertainty and to restore certainty to the economy in three different ways:

1. halting the escalation of the trade war with specific respect to China;
2. the need for Congress to enact USCMA; and
3. enacting a national infrastructure package

And he also cited a letter from U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark to members of Congress currently on a two-week district work period to focus on USCMA by meeting with local businesses and chambers of commerce to learn how enactment of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will benefit their communities.

“The next few months are critical for our economy and national prosperity,” Clark wrote. “While many parts of the economy are strong, such as employment and wage growth, others are weakening, such as manufacturing and business investment. To keep our economy growing, it is imperative that our nation’s elected leaders take steps to restore certainty and boost business confidence. 

One critical step is the prompt approval of USMCA. Mexico and Canada are our nation’s largest trading partners, with two-way trade supporting approximately 12 million American jobs.”

Even though there is a growing bipartisan consensus in regards to the importance of moving forward with USCMA on both sides of the aisle, Clark stressed that the U.S. economy cannot afford to enactment of USCMA to fall by the wayside in reiterating the need for members of Congress to meet with local business leaders to see what passing USCMA means for them.