HOUSTON – (Jan. 15, 2020) – The Senate is expected to approve the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) this week, and the deal stands to benefit all three countries, according to an expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
David A. Gantz, the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics at the Baker Institute, is available to discuss this development and its implications.
“The long road to replacement of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) with the USMCA, signed by the three governments Nov. 30, 2018, is finally nearing an end, to the benefit of enterprises and workers in all three countries," he said. "The USMCA modernizes the 26-year-old NAFTA in such areas as e-commerce and digital trade, and adds important protections for labor rights and the environment.
“When the agreement goes into effect — probably on May 1 — the most significant immediate impact will be to eliminate the uncertainties regarding NAFTA’s future, uncertainties that have chilled investment and hiring throughout the region for the past three years," Gantz added. "Texas has engaged in more trade with Mexico than any other state and thus can be expected to reap significant economic benefits as the USMCA strengthens North American business and workers who must compete in North America and the global market with their counterparts in Europe and Asia.”
One negative in the deal, Gantz said, is that new rules of origin will increase the cost of automotive production in North America and reduce investor protection.
The Baker Institute has a radio and television studio available for media outlets that want to schedule an interview with Gantz. For more information, contact Jeff Falk, director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.
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Related materials:
Gantz bio: www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/david-a-gantz
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Follow the Baker Institute's Center for the United States and Mexico via Twitter @BakerCtrUSMEX.
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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top three university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blog.bakerinstitute.org.