CLF - How the USMCA Affects U.S. Steelmakers and Auto Manufacturers
Last week, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico agreed in principle to final changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal, which would update the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The three countries' negotiators wrote the bill last year, but each country's legislatures needed to ratify the agreement, and Democrats in Congress asked for changes this year before ratification.
However, it looks like there's finally bipartisan consensus to ratify the updated agreement. The bill now has the blessing of both the Trump Administration and Democrats in Congress, and it appears that it will soon be ratified by Canada's parliament, as well. Mexico's Senate ratified the updated deal on Thursday, Dec. 12.
Two of the industries with the most at stake are the U.S. steel industry and the U.S. auto industry. Both have had their share of trouble combatting imports from low-wage countries over the past decade, mainly from China but also from Mexico. As such, many industry executives have pushed for the bill's passage to help fix the problem and end the uncertainty around tariffs and quotas.