The Vinyl Institute Supports Trade with Canada and Mexico

July 19, 2019

The U.S. has achieved steady and positive progress the past months as it moves closer to ratifying the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The landmark trade agreement will cultivate hundreds of thousands of new U.S. jobs and continue to support the current 2 million U.S. jobs that rely on exports to Mexico and Canada. The vinyl industry employs about 350,00 folks here in the US who produce products which are sold globally. In fact, about one-third or 5 billion pounds of PVC resin are made by American workers and exported around the world. And our largest trading partners are Canada and Mexico.

The Trump Administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have committed to working together to pass the USMCA possibly as early as this year. The United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been negotiating with the nine-member Democratic trade working group to iron out Democratic concerns on enforcement, labor, and drug pricing provisions. Meanwhile, Mexico’s Congress was the first of the three countries to pass the agreement, as well as the labor safeguards that were a precondition of the U.S. in the initial negotiations. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met last month with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) about the USMCA in preparation Canada taking up the trade agreement when its Parliament returns in October.

The new agreement will continue to advance the prosperity and growth in demand that U.S. vinyl resin businesses and manufacturers have created from trade with our North American neighbors.  According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, during 2018, U.S. PVC resin manufacturers exported 17 percent of its products to Canada and 8 percent to Mexico. The U.S. International Trade Commission says the new trade deal will not only increase U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico but, increase U.S. vinyl exports by more than 4.9% by 2022.  This pact will increase American jobs and allow American vinyl manufactures to maintain a significant market advantage being in a strong trilateral trade relationship.

The Vinyl Institute and its members have worked to support passage of the USMCA every step of the way. As part of the USMCA Coalition, the Vinyl Institute has worked with other U.S. companies and associations to secure congressional approval and advocate the benefits of the USMCA. Vinyl Institute officers and our Governmental Affairs team have personally met with the White House to discuss the importance of preserving the trade relationship with Mexico and Canada which purchases one-fifth of the total value of U.S. manufactured goods. Working with the vinyl industry, we have met with over a hundred congressional offices to push for approval and educate members and their staff of the need to preserve the gains that North American trade has for American workers.

There is no doubt that this trilateral trade agreement is a big win for the U.S. and our North American allies, but we still have a way to go. As the Trump Administration continues to negotiate passage with Democrats, it is vital for vinyl business leaders to stay vigilant and in contact with their members of Congress at this time. Please reach out to your U.S. senators and representatives asking them to support the passage of the USMCA while emphasizing the importance of international trade to the vinyl industry and a more sustainable U.S. global economy. Click here to send an email to your member of Congress. Your support and email today is helping grow jobs here in the US.

Click here to tell your senators and representatives to vote YES on USMCA.