USMCA Trade Deal Passes, Pelosi Praises Dems For Making It “Infinitely Better”

The USMCA trade deal is predicted to generate a whopping $70 billion in GDP and add 200,000 jobs to our economy.

Check it out:

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy explained how the USMCA trade deal will help American workers on his Twitter page:

Is it any coincidence that Pelosi and the Dems passed the economy-boosting deal the same day they announced articles of impeachment against Trump?

GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel doesn't think so:

The Wall Street Journal has more to say on the passage of the USMCA trade deal:

The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is expected to usher in tangible benefits for agriculture, technology, manufacturing and other business sectors, industry analysts say.

 

Farmers are likely to see more exports. More auto parts are expected to be made in the U.S., and e-commerce and data companies say the trade pact will allow them to expand internationally.

             

What’s more, the deal is likely to help spur investment by establishing more predictable trade relations after a year marked by uncertainty over the pact’s fate in Congress and President Trump’s threats to pull the U.S. out of the existing North American Free Trade Agreement. 

 

“The approval of USMCA will send a signal of greater certainty to the market,” said       John Murphy,        senior vice president for international policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Investment decisions that may have been clouded can now go forward without that uncertainty.”

 

Here’s a look at the trade accord’s expected impact in crucial sectors.

 

—Timothy Puko

Autos

 

USMCA contains new rules aimed at steering more investment and jobs to the U.S. auto industry.

 

When the deal comes into full effect, 75% of the value of completed cars and trucks—and of core parts such as engines, bodies and axles—must originate in North America to qualify for duty-free treatment. Nafta requires 62.5% of a completed vehicle’s value comes from the region.

                                                                                                                  

The new agreement also requires 40% of a car’s value and 45% of a light truck’s be manufactured in North American facilities where salaried workers are paid an average of at least $16 an hour.

 

That essentially is a mandate for auto makers to locate some manufacturing in the U.S. or Canada over Mexico, where workers at assembly plants were paid less than $8 an hour in 2017, according to analyses by the Center for Automotive Research, based in Ann Arbor, Mich.

 

U.S. auto makers generally back the agreement. They are better positioned than foreign rivals to meet the new rules. Foreign auto makers are lukewarm on the changes, largely because many of them use more parts and components from overseas.

 

The U.S. International Trade Commission in April said those changes could lead to thousands of new jobs in the U.S. as manufacturers start sourcing more of their supplies from domestic partners. While the auto makers themselves might shed 1,500 jobs, automotive suppliers would likely add the equivalent of roughly 28,000 new full-time employees, according to the estimate.

 

“We may see the reshoring of manufacturing into the U.S., particularly for those suppliers of components that are core parts,” said       Ann Wilson,        vice president of government affairs at the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association.

 

—Ben Foldy

Agriculture

 

The USMCA is expected to increase annual U.S. agricultural and food exports by $2.2 billion, or 1.1%, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. That comes from small increases of U.S. dairy, poultry, wheat and alcohol exports to Canada. More sugar and products with sugar would come to the U.S. from Canada.

 

For U.S. farmers, grain traders and meatpackers, completing USMCA became more urgent as the U.S. trade battle with China deepened over the past year. Mexico and Canada in 2018 were the two biggest buyers of U.S. farm goods, representing $40 billion in sales, as shipments to China fell by more than half.

 

       Nick Giordano,        head of government affairs for the National Pork Producers Council, said completing the USMCA would help hog farmers recover after Mexico’s retaliatory tariffs trimmed an average of $12 from the price of each hog sold in the U.S. in 2018.

 

Hog farmer Trent Thiele in 2018 delayed expanding his operation near Elma, Iowa, after Mexico levied tariffs on U.S. pork, in response to U.S. tariffs on Mexican steel and aluminum. After the three countries agreed to the USMCA later that year, Mr. Thiele moved ahead, investing about $1.5 million in new barns that will allow him to raise 12,000 more hogs.

 

“We can’t eat all of our pork domestically, so it’s a big deal to us to have these markets available and these trade agreements signed,” Mr. Thiele said. “We need to at least get one of these taken care of.”

 

—Jacob Bunge

The Houston Chronicle also said:

House Democratic leaders said Tuesday they had agreed to a newly negotiated trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada, proclaiming it would far exceed worker protections of earlier international agreements of its kind.

                

Speaking to reporters, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, said she would move quickly to pass the agreement, even as her party moves ahead to impeach President Donald Trump.

                

"There are some people why say why give Trump a victory," Pelosi said. "We're declaring victory for the American worker."

With U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer traveling to Mexico Tuesday to get a signature on the new USMCA, which would replace the 1990s era North American Free Trade Agreement, the question now is how quickly Congress can vote to ratify the deal.

                                                                                                        

On Tuesday Trump tweeted, "America’s great USMCA Trade Bill is looking good." Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, released a statement imploring Congress to support the trade deal.

                

“This is a defining moment for our nation: we have an opportunity to pass one of the largest trilateral trade agreements,” he said. “The North American Free Trade Agreement gave rise to the greatest display of economic growth in the history of Texas, United States, Mexico, and Canada. Now, it is time to continue and build on this economic prosperity by passing the USMCA."