USMCA Economic Impact Almost too Small to Measure

Today, the White House and House Democrats have reportedly reached a deal on terms for a trade deal between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. But CEI Senior Fellow Ryan Young remains underwhelmed:

“If the deal announced today holds and the revised NAFTA/USMCA passes, its economic impact will be almost too small to measure. But compared to likely alternative policies from the Trump administration, ‘nothing’ is almost certainly better than ‘something’. 

“The USMCA leaves intact NAFTA’s biggest achievement—near-zero tariffs between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. On the negative side, USMCA would increase car prices for consumers, add to regulatory complexity, and interfere with international supply chains. On the plus side, more than half of USMCA’s language is taken verbatim from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that the Trump administration withdrew from on its third day in office. The USMCA’s policy stakes are very small. But in terms of damage control, it is potentially very large.”

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Ryan Young

Today, the White House and House Democrats have reportedly reached a deal on terms for a trade deal between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. But CEI Senior Fellow Ryan Young remains underwhelmed: