ATA hails USMCA implementation

Today, the American Trucking Associations thanked leaders in the United States, Canada and Mexico for their work in crafting a new continental trade agreement – the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement.

“This is a tremendous day,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear, “thanks to the efforts of many people in our three nations, USMCA is officially taking effect. It is the first significant revision in our nation’s trading relationship in nearly three decades and will foster growth in all three nations at a time when the economy can use a shot in the arm.”

Ratified in January, the USMCA is projected to increase annual U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico by a combined $33 billion above the current NAFTA baseline. The agreement is also expected to increase U.S. GDP by $68 billion, stimulating broad sectors of the economy that the trucking industry services, like agriculture and manufacturing.

“Very little changes for trucking today, but going forward, USMCA will not only keep industry in North America, benefiting trucking, it will likely attract new factories and economic activity, which will lead to more trucking activity,” said ATA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of International Trade Policy & Cross-Border Operations Bob Costello. “International trade, and specifically trade with the US and Canada and Mexico are tremendous drivers of freight for our industry. I expect that growth related to USMCA will provide a real boost for trucking in the coming years.”

In 2019, trucking moved 67% of the surface trade with Canada and 84% of it with Mexico, and that activity supported 89,500 full-time jobs in the industry, including nearly 60,000 full time U.S. truck drivers, which made $3.28 billion in wages not including benefits.

“USMCA is an important updated to an old NAFTA agreement. This new agreement should spur new production and trucking activity throughout the continent, which will benefit US trucking operations,” Spear said. “Without this new agreement, our economy would’ve been at risk for losing industry and jobs to other parts of the world, hurting US trucking companies.”