The US Senate passed legislation to implement the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on Thursday by a vote of 89-10, and now it’s headed to President Donald Trump for his signature.
The UMSCA deal replaces the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and should benefit the American steel industry, according to a American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) statement.
Thomas J. Gibson, AISI’s president and chief executive officer, said the USMCA improves upon NAFTA by strengthening rules of origin for steel-intensive goods. The deal also incentives use of North American steel in manufactured goods and bolsters manufacturing supply chains for the automotive, auto parts, pipe and tube, and machinery industries.
The deal is especially important for US steel producers since nearly 90pc of the country’s mill products are exported to Canada and Mexico.
The USMCA also allows the three countries to cooperate over dumped and subsidized steel import surges in the region, Gibson added.