Chamber Welcomes Implementation of USMCA

by Maria S. Salinas

After much anticipation, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is officially entering into law today, ushering in a new trade relationship between our three countries. The USMCA brings much needed modernization to NAFTA, which was more than 25 years old. With the new agreement in effect, we foresee new opportunities in the Los Angeles region for small businesses, the automotive and agricultural sectors. The agreement will ensure growth in digital trade, secures stronger protections for Intellectual property and will provide transparency and information sharing on measures impacting agricultural trade. Our companies will have full access to our largest export markets for years to come, as the agreement restores certainty to trade ties that support 12 million American jobs.

The Chamber has long been an active advocate for the USMCA. Mexico and Canada are critically important trading and investment partners, and we committed our efforts to making sure that the new agreement not only passed Congress and became law, but that it was of significant benefit to our region.

Last year, just following the conclusion of the USMCA negotiations, we hosted Hon. Jesús Seade, Undersecretary for North America for the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As representative of the President of Mexico at the negotiation of the USMCA, Seade shared valuable insights on the issues addressed in the agreement and benefits to all trading partners.

 Last month, we hosted a discussion in partnership with the U.S. Chamber and the Consulates of Mexico and Canada in Los Angeles, focused on the opportunities surrounding USCMA even during the crisis and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion featured Hon. Zaib Shaikh, Consul General of Canada, Amb. Marcela Celorio, Consul General of Mexico and Neil Herrington, Senior Vice President, Americas Department, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The webinar may be viewed here. 

We will continue to feature opportunities to participate in this region’s global economy as USMCA takes effect. We strongly encourage the Administration to enforce USMCA with flexibility as our businesses will need time to adapt to the new regulations while also navigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  We invite you to join us in ushering in #USMCADay on social media and building on the prosperity of this historic new trade deal to support a thriving region for all.

And that's The Business Perspective.