Jan. 31 (UPI) — President Donald Trump celebrated the signing of a new North American trade deal Thursday during a trip to Michigan, saying he “ended a nightmare” for manufacturing workers.
Trump appeared at Dana Incorporated in Warren, Mich., after touring the facility, which manufactures commercial and industrial vehicles. The visit came one day after he signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on Wednesday, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“I just want to say I kept my promise,” he said. “My promise of taking care of Michigan so other countries aren’t ripping us off.”
Trump said his administration has found the “magic wand” to create manufacturing jobs, pledging that the deal will create up to 80,000 new jobs.
“I used to say those are the best jobs, those are great people. Those are unbelievably talented people,” he said.
Although Trump referred to NAFTA as a “nightmare” and made its obsolescence a key element in his 2016 presidential campaign, the new agreement differs little from its predecessor.
“The USMCA is the largest, most significant, modern and balanced trade agreement in history,” Trump said at the signing ceremony. “All of our countries will benefit greatly.”
Economists have noted that the USMCA offers few new benefits to the U.S. manufacturing sector. Trump has predicted that it will improve U.S. economic growth by 1.2 percent, generate $68 billion in new economic activity and create 176,000 new jobs.
Under the law, higher automotive rules-of-origin requirements will increase the percentage of parts from North America in new cars, and financial incentives for automakers to build cars in Mexico will be reduced. It also increases intellectual property protections and opens Canada as a market for U.S. dairy products.
The three countries reached an original agreement in 2018 but it required a year of congressional negotiation with the White House to reach a bill that could pass both houses of the U.S. Congress. Mexico has already ratified the law, and ratification in Canada is pending.
