H.R. 5430 – USMCA: Yes

H.R. 5430 – USMCA: Yes.  This is the trade agreement negotiated by the Trump administration and held up in the House for the last year by the Democrats.  It comes to us now as a fig-leaf to cover an entirely unproductive legislative year consumed with impeachment.  It is a negligible improvement over NAFTA, opening more marketing opportunities for American agriculture and strengthening cross-border digital trade and intellectual property protections.  Sadly, it also imposes more protectionist restrictions on auto manufacture, which will result in increased prices for automobiles, and imposes a variety of environmental and labor requirements that will increase prices of all consumer goods relative to what they would be with a genuine free trade agreement.  Overall, it should be a net-plus for the economy but falls far short of ideal.