OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed into law the 'United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act,' which implements the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Agreement.
Earlier this month, Congress had overwhelmingly passed with bi-partisan support the new North American trade deal in what is seen as a major victory for President Trump, who made replacing NAFTA one of his key campaign promises.
With this, the U.S. ratification of the tri-lateral agreement is complete. Mexico had ratified it in June last year. The USMCA will come into force once Canada ratifies it.
Delivering remarks following a signing ceremony at the White House, Trump said the USMCA is the largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history.
The Trump administration claims that USMCA will deliver more jobs and better labor protections that benefit American workers, while fostering more growth for American businesses.
The USMCA is estimated to add another 1.2 percent to the United States' GDP.
'For the first time in American history, we have replaced a disastrous trade deal that rewarded outsourcing with a truly fair and reciprocal trade deal that will keep jobs, wealth and growth right here in America,' he said.
Trump alleged that after adoption of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) more than 25 years ago, the United States lost nearly one-fourth of its manufacturing jobs. USMCA, which replaces NAFTA, was signed by the three countries in November 2018 after several rounds of tough negotiations.
The deal requires that cars should be manufactured with 75 percent North American components to escape tariffs. Forty percent of each car must also be made in facilities where workers earn $16 an hour or more on average. Reciprocally, Canada has opened the door to its dairy markets for American farmers.
American agricultural exports are expected to increase by $2.2 billion under USMCA. It includes provisions to prohibit unfair currency practices and reinforce exchange rate stability.
Mexico and Canada have agreed to new labor protections that the Trump administration negotiated.
The USMCA contains critical protections for intellectual property.
Provisions to boost car production in the United States is another highlight of the deal.
The USMCA is also a massive win for American manufacturers and autoworkers, according to Trump. 'Under NAFTA, companies were given huge incentives to produce cars in foreign countries and ship them to America tax-free. We lost our jobs, we closed our factories, and other countries built our cars,' he said.
Trump said Fiat Chrysler is already investing $4.5 billion and creating 6,500 new jobs in Michigan, and opening up the first new Detroit plant in more than 30 years.
Ford is putting in $1.5 billion and creating 3,000 new jobs, while GM is investing $2.2 billion and creating 2,200 new jobs in Michigan to build vehicles of the future, Trump said in the presence of the top executives of the two automobile giants.
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