July 1, 2021
Today, July 1, 2021 marks one year since the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force. The USMCA is a trade agreement that’s propelling U.S. leadership into the 21st century.
The USMCA modernizes international trade and improves our trading relationship with our closest neighbors. The USMCA has revolutionized digital global trade, removing barriers and setting quality standards for innovators, manufacturers and consumers across all sectors.
Only a year after entering into force, USMCA is hailed as the gold standard of trade policy, and is an integral part of future American economic prosperity. It holistically encapsulates the needs of states and labor markets across the country, creating jobs and increasing paychecks to workers and their families. USMCA comes at a time when America needs economic stability most – in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the world slowly begins to reopen.
The USMCA provides the hope that many Americans need both on the individual family level, and on the market level. By creating jobs and increasing paychecks, the USMCA not only provides financial stability, but it provides hope. Soon enough, businesses will be booming with production, and families will once again be able to regain their fiscal footing after a year of turmoil.
Within the tighter provisions in USMCA, manufacturers have seen stronger content rules for cars and auto parts, new protections for intellectual property, prohibitions against currency manipulation, and new rules on digital commerce that were nonexistent when NAFTA launched in 1994. Additionally, USMCA includes provisions that allow American farmers and ranchers to compete on an even economic playing field.
One year later, U.S. lawmakers and taxpayers remain committed to upholding Canada and Mexico to the highest standards of trading practice. Despite complications from the COVID-19 pandemic, the three parties held the first Free Trade Commission meeting on schedule earlier this year. The United States Trade Representative has also initiated two labor complaints against Mexico, and has challenged Canada’s dairy quotas under the provisions of the agreement. Most recently, the Office of the US Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Labor convened the inaugural meeting of the USMCA’s Labor Council.
These examples show that the USMCA is clear in its enforcement capabilities and a key tool in supporting workers and businesses by ensuring our partners adhere to the rules of the road.
In the first year of USMCA, the United States and the global community has seen economic failure at the hands of a global pandemic. USMCA provides the hope needed for American families and manufacturers, while also maintaining a competitive edge against China and others with unfair or questionable trade practices. With the world reopening and hope reemerging, the USMCA is perfectly situated for a promising future.