Timmons on Bloomberg: USMCA, Nuclear and AI

 “The USMCA deal was a great success story for the United States and North America,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said recently on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power.”

The big picture: Timmons was one of the first industry figures to respond to the news that the U.S. had opted against an extension at the Joint Review meeting on July 1. The NAM had strongly advocated for extending and strengthening the agreement.

• Without an extension, the current agreement remains in force until 2036, and another Joint Review meeting between the three countries will take place on July 1, 2027.
• U.S. and Mexican negotiators are set to continue bilateral discussions during the week of July 20, while U.S.–Canada talks remain high level.

The NAM’s view: “[The USMCA] has worked so well as a trilateral agreement that I’m hoping that we can get back to that point. And I know I’ve met with the ministers of both countries. I’ve talked with my counterparts in Mexico and Canada, and we know that with the right policies in place, it can work. So our hope is that we’ll get through some of these hurdles, if you will, that the administration has identified, and then we’ll have a solid agreement moving forward.”

• Among these concerns is transshipments—sending goods to an intermediate location before sending them to their final destination—by China.
• The ending of Chinese transshipments was among the administration’s goals when the USMCA was entered into force in 2020, Timmons continued.
• Two other matters the administration must still fix, Timmons said: the energy market in Mexico and “some of the agricultural issues with Canada.”

The energy angle: “Energy costs are a huge input factor for manufacturers,” said Timmons.

• “Every time something moves up on the energy side or the cost of energy, that does have a negative impact for manufacturers. So we’re glad to see that this ceasefire has been negotiated, at least for now, and we’re hopeful that it sticks because it is problematic when energy prices do go up.”
• “But it also . . . it shows how important it is for us to be pursuing energy dominance here in the United States. And so the more we are able to produce here at home, the better it is for the global market.”

A nuclear future: Timmons also talked energy with show hosts Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz.

• Although maintaining American dominance in energy requires an all-of-the-above strategy, he told them, the administration’s focus on nuclear is excellent news for manufacturers and the country as a whole.
• “We had a really great set of news come out today: There are three advanced nuclear reactors that are actually up and running, and they’re going to be producing electricity within the next two or three years,” said Timmons, referring to the Department of Energy’s July 1 announcement that the administration had fulfilled President Trump’s executive order directing the agency to authorize three advanced reactors.
• “The president challenged the nuclear industry to be able to produce those by July 4—Independence Day—this year, and I’m really pleased to see that that is the case.”

AI isn’t coming for manufacturing jobs: Timmons also discussed a question he said he often gets asked: will the increased adoption of artificial intelligence mean fewer manufacturing positions for human beings?

• “I don’t blame folks for asking it, but what we have seen in our real-life experience is that AI is being used to enhance the manufacturing workplace and actually allowing workers to be more productive and to be more successful,” said Timmons.