DES MOINES – The United States, Mexico, and Canada have reached an agreement to modernize the 24-year-old NAFTA into a 21st century, high-standard agreement. The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will support mutually beneficial trade leading to freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in North America.
Key achievements include: Intellectual property, digital trade, De minimis, financial Services, and environment.
Tuesday, Governor Kim Reynolds released the following statement in response to the announced agreement in Congress that will move USMCA forward:
“Mexico and Canada are Iowa’s top two trading partners and are critical to our economy. It’s why I have been calling on Congress to ratify USMCA for over a year.
“Today’s announcement represents a positive step forward for Iowa’s entire economy. USMCA is a strong, balanced, and modern trade agreement that will create opportunities for Iowa families, farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses by expanding markets for our world-class exports.
“I want to thank President Trump, Ambassador Lighthizer, and the entire administration for their steadfast leadership on this issue.”
President Trump said of the deal, “USMCA is a great deal for all three countries, solves the many deficiencies and mistakes in NAFTA, greatly opens markets to our farmers and manufacturers, reduces trade barriers to the U.S. and will bring all three Great Nations together in competition with the rest of the world.”
