Input Stories

 
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, fresh off an electoral victory, visited the White House yesterday and held a press conference with President Trump in which they discussed the prospects of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement.

Trump: President Trump spoke positively about the agreement, saying, “It’s good for all countries” and promised that “regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada.”

• He added, however, that the agreement was a “transitional step,” saying, “We do have a negotiation coming up over the next year or so to adjust it or terminate it.”
• Later, President Trump said, “We’re going to work on some subtle changes [to the deal]—maybe. I don’t even know if we’re going to be dealing with USMCA.”

Carney: Prime Minister Carney said that the USMCA “is a basis for a broader negotiation.”

• “Some things about it are going to have to change, and part of the way you’ve conducted these tariffs have taken advantage of existing aspects of the USMCA, so it’s going to have to change,” he told the president. “There’s other elements that have come, and that’s part of what we’re going to discuss.”

The NAM in action: The NAM was one of the foremost advocates of the USMCA when it was passed and has remained a vocal proponent of facilitating North American trade for the benefit of the American economy.

• As the NAM’s research shows, one-third of all imported manufacturing inputs now come to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.
• The trade agreement has also been crucial in helping the U.S. outcompete China; today, U.S. imports of manufacturing inputs from North America are more than three times the quantity imported from China.

The NAM says: “Manufacturing in the U.S. benefits enormously from the production model developed over the years under the USMCA,” said NAM Vice President of International Policy Andrea Durkin. “The NAM is working to ensure that upgrades to the agreement serve to strengthen the global competitiveness of manufacturers.”