North American plastics industry associations support USMCA signing, urge ratification of the deal

North America’s three largest plastics trade groups are praising the Nov. 30 signing of a new trade agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

The Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), the Washington. D.C.-based Plastics Industry Association, and the Asociación Nacional de Industrias del Plástico in Mexico City have issued a joint statement in response to the signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), in which they “applaud the work of negotiators from the U.S., Mexico and Canada on the signing of a new, modernized trade agreement that sets the stage for greater certainty throughout the continent – certainty that will support continued business growth and innovation for the plastics industries of each party to the agreement.”

“The USMCA makes crucial upgrades and updates to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that will enable the world’s strongest trilateral trade relationship to become even stronger,” the statement said. “We urge the legislatures of the U.S., Canada and Mexico to ratify this agreement and give the industry the certainty it needs to hire new workers and invest in the future, safe in the knowledge that North America once again has a vibrant, reliable trade regime to build on.”

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) also issued a statement in support of the USMCA signing, but also called on U.S. President Donald Trump to use the agreement to cancel tariffs on steel and aluminum. “The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum still cast a shadow over the zero-tariff philosophy of the USMCA,” ACC said. “We urge President Trump to rescind all tariffs and avoid any quotas on steel and aluminum in order to maximize the job and economic growth made possible by the USMCA.”