Trump hails revamped North American trade deal with Canada and Mexico

Valley leaders mostly positive in assessing Mexico, Canada pact

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump hailed his revamped North American trade deal with Canada and Mexico on Monday and vowed to sign it by late November.

But it’s not the final step in the lengthy path to congressional approval on an issue that has served for two decades as a political football for U.S. industrial policy and the loss of manufacturing jobs.

Embracing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement during a Rose Garden ceremony, Trump branded the trade deal the “USMCA,” a moniker he said would replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

But Trump noted that the deal would need to be ratified by Congress, a step that could be affected by the outcome of the fall congressional elections as Democrats seek to regain majorities in the House and Senate.

“Anything you submit to Congress is trouble no matter what,” Trump said, predicting that Democrats would say, “Trump likes it so we’re not going to approve it.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had opposed the deal until very recently, but he said Monday that his country was in a more stable place now that it had completed the negotiations. He said the deal needed to be fair since one trading partner is 10 times larger. He said Canada did not simply accept “any deal.”

“We got the right deal. We got a win-win-win for all three countries,” Trudeau said.

Trump said the accord would return the United States to a “manufacturing powerhouse.”

In fact, the U.S. has always been a manufacturing powerhouse and by some projections – before the current deal – expected to be No. 1 in 2020.

The economic agreement was forged just before a midnight deadline imposed by the U.S. to include Canada in a deal reached with Mexico late in the summer. It replaces NAFTA, which Trump has lambasted as a job-wrecking disaster that has hollowed out the nation’s industrialized base.

The agreement gives U.S. farmers greater access to the Canadian dairy market. But it keeps the former North American Free Trade Agreement dispute-resolution process that the U.S. wanted to jettison. It offers Canada protection if Trump goes ahead with plans to impose tariffs on cars, trucks and auto parts imported into the United States.

NAFTA reduced most trade barriers in North America, leading to a surge in trade between the three countries. But Trump and other critics said it encouraged manufacturers to move south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican wages, costing American jobs.

Mahoning Valley elected officials were mostly positive in their comments on the new deal.

“NAFTA has hurt millions of American workers, devastated communities and wiped out our manufacturing base,” U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, said.

“Nowhere is that more evident than in Northeast Ohio. That’s why I’ve been fighting to replace NAFTA with a fair deal since I was first elected to Congress. I am pleased that the text of this renegotiated NAFTA makes great strides toward prioritizing workers.”

He added that his priority is ensuring the deal’s enforcement mechanisms are strong.

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, said, “I’m encouraged to see that the Trump Administration has reached a trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. [USMCA] is designed to create more reciprocal, balanced trade that supports American jobs and grows the North American economy. It accomplishes this goal while bringing all three nations closer together in competition with the rest of the world. There has been talk about renegotiating NAFTA for 24 years; but, up until now, it’s only been talk – never action. President Trump is fulfilling yet another promise – to renegotiate NAFTA, and put American farmers, ranchers, business owners, and workers first – to put America back in the leadership chair of the global economy.”

Auto industry analysts said parts of the agreement are good news for the automotive industry.

“At first blush, the USMCA deal appears to be saving the automotive industry some major headaches, but we’re not quite out of the woods yet. The elimination of a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles is a huge win, but the new regional value content requirements mean that automakers will not able to source parts as freely, so there will be added costs associated with vehicle manufacturing,” said Ivan Drury, Edmunds’ senior manager of industry analysis.

Jeremy Acevedo, Edmunds industry analysis manager, said the deal could be good for the General Motors Lordstown plant, where the Chevrolet Cruze is built.

“For production of all vehicles, the new rules affect the sourcing of vehicles and components. There is less flexibility,” he said. “As far as the Cruze plant goes, it is in the right location for this particular deal.”

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction. It certainly helps,” he said.