Arizona economic group applauding new US-Mexico-Canada trade deal
Oct 1, 2018, 11:26 AM | Updated: 2:38 pm
President Donald Trump speaks as he announces a revamped North American free trade deal, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 1, 2018. The new deal, reached just before a midnight deadline imposed by the U.S., will be called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. It replaces the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Donald Trump had called a job-killing disaster. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
PHOENIX — One Valley economic group is applauding the new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Glenn Hamer, the head of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement has averted a potential crisis for Arizona with Canada.
“We have hundreds of Canadian companies that operate in the state of Arizona,” he said. “Even on tourism and our housing market, our friends from Canada have a huge impact.
“A great day for the state of Arizona, no doubt about that.”
The new deal cannot be signed just yet. There is a 60-day review period in Congress, during which representatives can suggest revisions.
Negotiators from the three countries spent all weekend working on the deal over the phone. They reached an agreement just before Sunday night’s deadline.
Meanwhile, Hamer said, this is all part of the president’s greater strategy with China — which, he says, is the second-strongest economy in the world.
“The agreement with Canada and Mexico is just the latest,” he said. “Last week, [the U.S.] signed an agreement with Japan to begin negotiations for a trade agreement between our two countries.
“The administration is updating our agreements, including with the European Union, and is going to use these new agreements to play hardball with … China.”
