Congress, Mexico and Canada hold a USMCA trump card

President Trump in his first term declared the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement the greatest free trade agreement in human history. Indeed, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, its architect, called it the “gold standard” of free trade agreements. 

Sadly, he has been replaced in Trump 2.0 by destructive appointees, including lefty economist Peter Navarro and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. Canada, our close ally, has been treated appallingly, including being labeled the “51st state.” Secretary Lutnick went so far as to say, “they suck.” As a result, anti-American sentiment in Canada is at historic levels. U.S.-Canada relations haven’t been this strained since the War of 1812. 

Sadly, President Trump has followed suit, making it clear that he thinks we are better off without the USMCA. But before bidding the trade deal adieu or acquiescing to any of Trump’s proposed dilutions, Congress and its counterparts in Canada and Mexico should understand the economic repercussions of impeding free trade. 

Our three legislative bodies hold the “trump card” against Trump. If the parties fail to agree on amendments during this review period, USMCA simply continues in its current form, subject to ongoing reviews, until July 1, 2036. The president may not withdraw from USMCA without congressional approval. The president is manufacturing a “now or never” fiction. The prudent course is to hold firm against any weakening of the agreement’s terms.  

What we have right now is worth protecting. 

USMCA and its predecessor, NAFTA, have been an economic engine for the continent since 1993. The three decades following NAFTA’s enactment produced one of the most sustained expansions of prosperity in American economic history. U.S. exports nearly........

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