Florida Chamber Urges Vote on U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
On July 22, the Florida Chamber submitted a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative and the Florida congressional delegation on NAFTA negotiations to reiterates our strong support for ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and urges Congress to move forward with a vote adopting the USMCA as soon as possible.
The letter is in keeping with our long-standing policy of supporting free trade, expanding international trade and investment opportunities for Florida business and communities, fair and equitable market access for Florida-origin exports abroad, and elimination of barriers that are harmful to Florida’s competitiveness as a global hub for trade. Our recommendations address the need to modernize the agreement but also raise unfair trading practices that have negatively impacted the Florida agriculture community.
The fourth round of NAFTA modernization talks begin on October 11th in Washington, D.C.
There are seven scheduled rounds of negotiation and the timeline for conclusion is increasingly tight as tough issues such as the Trump administration proposal to “reduce the trade deficit with the NAFTA countries”, changes to rules of origin as well as the fate of the transnational court for investment disputes are still on the table and need to be resolved.
