An alliance of U.S. companies, trade associations and lobbyists launched a series of TV commercials and digital ads Monday that it hopes will inspire more Americans to push their congressional representatives to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaces the current North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Pass USMCA Coalition includes a group of trade associations, businesses and advocacy groups, including the National Chicken Council.
“The U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will level the playing field for our workers, consumers, and farmers, with more free markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth,” says the ad from the Pass USMCA coalition, which formed last month to push for the deal on Capitol Hill. “By increasing exports, raising wages, and accelerating innovation, it will propel U.S. trade into the 21st century.” The ad then urges constituents to call their lawmakers and urge them to approve USMCA swiftly “because a win for workers is a win for America.”
The initial 30-second TV ad, set to run for three weeks in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., tells viewers that a “new era of economic and creative prosperity is within reach.” The campaign is seeking to build support among House Democrats who hold considerable sway over USMCA’s future.
Some of USMCA’s biggest critics are Democrats’ new liberal members of Congress, who have played an outsized role in policy disputes since the party took over control of the House at the beginning of the year. In addition, some Republicans have said they won’t vote for NAFTA 2.0 in its current form.
USMCA, which was signed by the three countries’ leaders in October, must be approved by Congress before it comes into force. President Trump has called on Congress to support the USMCA, which he argues will lift the American farm sector, bring back lost manufacturing jobs and reinvigorate the auto industry.
President Trump, who was engaged in the USMCA negotiation process, campaigned on a promise to make the trade deal with Canada and Mexico better for American labor. If Congress does not approve the agreement, President Trump has threatened to pull out of NAFTA all together.
“The U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will level the playing field for our workers, consumers and farmers with more free markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth,” says the ad, which cost just over US$1 million. “By increasing exports, raising wages and accelerating innovation, it will propel U.S. trade into the 21st century.”
