NACC recently joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s effort to urge Congress to pass the U.S. -Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). This coalition letter sent this week to members of the U.S. Congress was signed by more than 600 organizations nationwide. NACC joined in their efforts because we believe the passage of USMCA will significantly impact our business community. Please click here to read the support letter.
USMCA is a trade deal to replace NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). NAFTA was negotiated a quarter century ago, when there was no e-commerce therefore has no rules are in place to foster growth in the digital economy. The government of Mexico was the first country to ratify the agreement back in June. The Canadian Prime Minister has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to passing USMCA however, Canada has not yet officially ratified the agreement. We are waiting on our Congress to approve the deal.
Key Reasons for our Support:
- Illinois exported an estimated $27.6 Billion to Canada and Mexico in 2017 alone
- Mexico and Canada are the top two export destinations for U.S. small and medium-size businesses
- More than 12 million American jobs depend on trade with Canada and Mexico
- USMCA creates rules to foster growth in the digital economy
- USMCA ensures a level playing field for U.S. financial institutions, investors and investments in financial institutions as well as cross-border trade in financial services on a nondiscriminatory basis.
- USMCA guarantees the freedom to move data across borders and prohibiting the forced localization of data, thereby ensuring continued growth for a dynamic area of international commerce.
Click Here to learn more about USMCA direct impact on Illinois.
We will keep you abreast of the status of the USMCA Please contact us if you would like to get more involved with our Business Works efforts.