US Trade Office Predicts 76,000 Job Windfall From Trade Deal With Canada, Mexico

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The proposed US Mexico Canada (Trade) Agreement (USMCA) would trigger a windfall for the United States, with billions of dollars of investments in the US auto industry and 76,000 new jobs, the US Trade Representative office said in a press release on Thursday.

"The analysis, based in large part on information provided by North American automotive manufacturers, estimates that over a five-year period the USMCA will result in: $34 billion in new automotive manufacturing investments in the US, $23 billion in new annual purchases of US-made automotive parts, and 76,000 jobs in the US automotive sector," the release said.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the USMCA’s rules of origin are "key to supporting more good-paying manufacturing jobs for American workers."

The report noted that the USMCA – which has yet to be ratified by Congress — is already helping to stimulate billions of dollars in new auto manufacturing investments in the United States.

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Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen have publicly announced recent investments that were partly influenced by their anticipated need to comply with USMCA’s rules of origin, according to the report.

The USMCA resulted from a 2017-2018 renegotiation of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.