U.S. House Ratifies USMCA

Last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 385-41. As a reminder, the Metals Service Center Institute supported the agreement.

In a statement to the press, President and CEO Bob Weidner said, “As a North American trade association that includes the broadest representation of the metals value chain, from producers and service centers to processors and users, MSCI believes NAFTA positively impacted our industry, fostering a $1 trillion annual trading relationship that has benefited both businesses and consumers. Service centers and the downstream manufacturers require a strong North American production base and thoughtful and modern trade policy. While NAFTA contributed to the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican economies and industrial metals supply chain, it was time to rewrite it for the 21st century.”

MSCI submitted comments in June 2017 to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative providing guidance on NAFTA modernization. Those comments are available here.

The U.S. Senate is expected to consider ratification of the USMCA in early 2020. Canada’s Parliament also must still act on ratification.