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Economy & Jobs

New Trade Agreement Puts Auto Industry First

2 minute read

Today, I’m going to Dearborn to visit the Ford Rouge complex, which has built cars, trucks and tractors nonstop for more than one hundred years. Ford Rouge has produced some of the most iconic American brands in history, from the Model A to the Mustang to the F-150. Even now, its 7,500 employees are developing the next generation of American cars using robotics, 3D printing and virtual reality.

From the earliest days of our administration, President Donald J. Trump has pledged to pursue “a new future of American automotive leadership,” and Ford Rouge is one of the more than 200 Big Three facilities in America that are building that future. But to secure American leadership in the auto industry well into the 21st century, we need to make sure American autoworkers compete on a level playing field. That begins by forging free, fair and reciprocal trade deals that put American workers and American jobs first — and we can start by passing the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement into law.

Last year, the president negotiated the USMCA with two of our biggest trading partners because, as he’s said time and again, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is extremely out of date. It was negotiated more than a quarter of a century ago — before the age of the internet — and now several of its provisions function as a loophole that works against American interests.

Read the full op-ed here.