Labor, manufacturing and business organizations breathed a collective sigh of relief as leaders from the U.S., Mexico and Canada all announced they would sign the U.S. Mexico Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement, and Democrats in the U.S. Congress said they could ratify the deal next week.
The deal has been in deliberation in Congress for the past year.
Here are just some of the reactions from the U.S. business community:
National Association of Manufacturers President Jay Timmons:
Manufacturers support the USMCA, and we are encouraged that the administration and House Democrats have forged a path forward, with the support of Canada and Mexico as well. To be sure, as with any agreement of this nature, not every objective that we sought was met. For instance, we are extremely disappointed that the agreement missed an opportunity to set the gold standard for the protection of American-made lifesaving innovations and inventions. Protection of intellectual property is a key principle and critical for the long-term vitality of the manufacturing industry and the men and women who work in our sector.
Nevertheless, a ratified USMCA will deliver increased certainty for manufacturers—especially for the 2 million manufacturing workers whose jobs depend on North American trade.
This has been a long process, and manufacturers will continue to work closely with the administration and both the House and Senate to approve the USMCA by the end of this year.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:
Make no mistake, we demanded a trade deal that benefits workers and fought every single day to negotiate that deal; and now we have secured an agreement that working people can proudly support.
I am grateful to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her allies on the USMCA working group, along with Senate champions like Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden, for standing strong with us throughout this process as we demanded a truly enforceable agreement. I also commend Ambassador Robert Lighthizer for being a straight shooter and an honest broker as we worked toward a resolution.
Working people are responsible for a deal that is a vast improvement over both the original NAFTA and the flawed proposal brought forward in 2017. For the first time, there truly will be enforceable labor standards—including a process that allows for the inspections of factories and facilities that are not living up to their obligations.
The USMCA also eliminates special carve outs for corporations like the giveaway to Big Pharma in the administration’s initial proposal and loopholes designed to make it harder to prosecute labor violations.
The USMCA is far from perfect. It alone is not a solution for outsourcing, inequality or climate change. Successfully tackling these issues requires a full-court press of economic policies that empower workers, including the repeal of tax cuts which reward companies for shipping our jobs overseas.
But there is no denying that the trade rules in America will now be fairer because of our hard work and perseverance. Working people have created a new standard for future trade negotiations.
President Trump may have opened this deal. But working people closed it. And for that, we should be very proud.
IPC (Electronics Manufacturers association) President John Mitchell:
We are pleased that leaders in the U.S. Congress and the Trump administration, as well as the governments of Canada and Mexico and key stakeholders, have reached consensus on USMCA. The agreement is a positive step for the electronics manufacturing industry and millions of U.S. workers and consumers. By prioritizing a modernized and strengthened trade relationship between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, all three nations can strengthen the region's supply chains, expand trade opportunities with partners abroad, and reinforce North America as a bastion of strength and stability in an uncertain world.
With electronics exports making up over 30 percent of U.S. exports of manufactured goods, natural resources and energy exports to Mexico and nearly 20 percent of such exports to Canada, USMCA will pave the way for continued growth in the electronics industry.
(In May, IPC released a study that found the total value of U.S. electronics trade with Canada and Mexico was $155.5 billion in 2017, with trade in electronic systems and components being especially important to the North American automobile industry. Mexico imports 34% of U.S. printed circuit board production—larger than the next four largest markets combined.)
US Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas J. Donohue:
The U.S. Chamber welcomes the news that the Trump Administration and House Democrats have reached agreement on a path forward for USMCA. We thank U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, and members of the House Democrats’ Working Group for their leadership and hard work. We are optimistic this development will open the door to final approval of USMCA on a bipartisan basis by the end of the year, which will especially benefit American farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses. We look forward to reviewing the details of the deal with our members and assessing their impact.
Grocery Manufacturers Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman:
The consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry is encouraged by the latest USMCA negotiations and hopes the announced deal will lead to swift congressional ratification of this important multilateral trade agreement. Under NAFTA, the CPG industry thrived and now contributes $2 trillion and 20 million jobs to the U.S. economy — and we anticipate continued growth and success for the industry under USMCA. Strong relationships with key trading partners are essential to our ability to provide Americans with the safe, affordable, high-quality products they enjoy every day.”
American Iron and Steel Institute CEO Thomas J. Gibson:
The steel industry welcomes today’s agreement between the administration and congressional Democrats that clears the way for a congressional vote on the USMCA. Implementation of the USMCA is critical to strengthening the steel industry’s competitiveness in the face of the continued challenges from global excess capacity and weakening demand. We urge Congress to quickly pass this new trade agreement before the end of this year.
“UAW members have opposed NAFTA since its inception a quarter century ago because they feared it would lead to the closing of countless manufacturing plants throughout our country and the moving of hundreds of thousands of good U.S. jobs to Mexico. Time has unfortunately proven UAW members right and it is for this very reason we welcomed the renegotiation of NAFTA (also known as USMCA) and pushed for more to be done.
While the final text of the agreement has not been made available for review, we already know that USMCA Is highly unlikely to bring factories back from Mexico, as some have promised. It will hopefully stop some of the bleeding of U.S. jobs and UAW members will vigilantly monitor enforcement of the agreement to make sure multinational corporations treat their workers right. We will also fight to make sure Mexico fully implements its labor law reforms and puts an end to company unions and sham contracts that pave for U.S. companies to send jobs south of the border.
If the final text reflects the agreed upon language, it has improved significantly from when it was initially negotiated by the Trump administration because of the tireless work of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Ron Wyden, Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Gary Peters and the USMCA working group who fought to strengthen its labor standards and enforcement provisions. I also want to thank Ambassador Robert Lighthizer for his good-faith negotiations.
But to be clear, much more work remains to fight against the offshoring of jobs and the economic inequality that has plagued our country for so long. While trade deals are important, they alone will not cure all our ills. We need our elected leaders to do much more. The Administration and Congress should start by ending bad tax laws that reward companies for moving jobs abroad and finally fix our labor laws by passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO Act), and other measures, to ensure all workers have a right to have voice on the job.”
United Autoworkers union
Provided final text accurately reflects changes
“UAW members have opposed NAFTA since its inception a quarter century ago because they feared it would lead to the closing of countless manufacturing plants throughout our country and the moving of hundreds of thousands of good U.S. jobs to Mexico. Time has unfortunately proven UAW members right and it is for this very reason we welcomed the renegotiation of NAFTA (also known as USMCA) and pushed for more to be done.
While the final text of the agreement has not been made available for review, we already know that USMCA Is highly unlikely to bring factories back from Mexico, as some have promised. It will hopefully stop some of the bleeding of U.S. jobs and UAW members will vigilantly monitor enforcement of the agreement to make sure multinational corporations treat their workers right. We will also fight to make sure Mexico fully implements its labor law reforms and puts an end to company unions and sham contracts that pave for U.S. companies to send jobs south of the border.
If the final text reflects the agreed upon language, it has improved significantly from when it was initially negotiated by the Trump administration because of the tireless work of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Sen. Gary Peters and the USMCA working group who fought to strengthen its labor standards and enforcement provisions. I also want to thank Ambassador Robert Lighthizer for his good-faith negotiations.
But to be clear, much more work remains to fight against the offshoring of jobs and the economic inequality that has plagued our country for so long. While trade deals are important, they alone will not cure all our ills. We need our elected leaders to do much more. The Administration and Congress should start by ending bad tax laws that reward companies for moving jobs abroad and finally fix our labor laws by passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO Act), and other measures, to ensure all workers have a right to have voice on the job.”
Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association
MEMA congratulates members on Capitol Hill for successfully completing the hard work to required to reach this important deal to finalize the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The agreement announced Dec. 10 opens the door to passage of the USMCA, which will help ensure that U.S. businesses stay competitive in the global marketplace.
While we still need to learn more about the details of the plan, we like what we hear so far. Absent any concerns with the actual language, MEMA calls for a quick consideration of the USMCA and a positive vote in 2019. It can be done.
The USMCA will provide economic certainty and opportunity for manufacturing growth in the United States and throughout the region. This economic certainty is essential to preserve and enhance vital North American supply chains for the U.S. automotive sector. That, in turn, will allow U.S. suppliers to be competitive in the global mobility marketplace. A new North American Trade deal for the 21st Century is essential to U.S. economic success now and in the future.
This article has been updated with additional organizations' comments as they have come in.
