The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is free trade agreement that has been signed but not yet ratified. This agreement is the result of a 2017–2018 renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by its member states. The document informally agreed to the terms on September 30, 2018, and formally on October 1.
Agreement negotiations focused largely on auto exports, steel and aluminum tariffs, and the dairy, egg, and poultry markets, but touched on other areas as well. These provisions included the cross-border flow of data, environmental and labor regulations, domestic production of cars and trucks, intellectual property protections. So, what does this agreement have to do with the travel industry?
U.S. Travel weighs in
The U.S. Travel Association President and CEO, Roger Dow, issued a statement that answers this question. In his statement, he voices strong support for passage of the U.S-Mexico-Canada trade agreement now awaiting congressional action:
“The time has come for Congress to come together and help America by passing the USMCA.
“We often have to remind people that travel is a U.S. export just like agricultural and manufactured goods—it’s our No. 1 services export and No. 2 export overall, in fact. History shows that free trade agreements immediately boost international visitation to the U.S., while lingering trade tensions have a chilling effect. Passing USMCA could further improve travel’s record as the generator of a $69 billion U.S. trade surplus last year.
The Research
“Research also shows that replacing NAFTA with the USMCA would raise travel-related U.S. economic output by $1.7 billion and create 15,000 new American jobs. It’s clear that USMCA is smart policy, and we urge congressional leaders to move it to a full vote as quickly as possible.”
The USMCA was signed by United States President Donald Trump, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on November 30, 2018 as a side event of the 2018 G20 Summit in Buenos Aires. Each country’s legislature still must ratify the agreement.
