The latest political firestorm soaking up all the oxygen in Washington, is the flap over President Trump’s conversation with newly-elected Ukrainian President Zelensky. A whistleblower, with second hand information, and a bias against Trump, lit the flame which is roaring through the political establishment in our nation’s capital. Speaker Pelosi, before she’d even had a chance to read the whistleblower report, and relying upon false information, such as the existence of a quid pro quo (when there clearly wasn’t one), announced that it was time to move forward with an impeachment inquiry. And now the Democrats are off to the races.
One of my principal concerns about this development, (which is highly unlikely to result in President Trump’s being removed from office, even after the squandering of considerable time and tax dollars), is that other important issues will get ignored. And in my view, one key thing Congress should be acting on ASAP, is passage of the USMCA trade deal.
What is the USMCA? Well, it stands for United States, Mexico and Canada, and it’s the trade deal negotiated by the Trump administration with our two neighbors, Mexico and Canada, which would replace the much loved/hated NAFTA trade deal. NAFTA has been in effect since the Clinton administration.
The USMCA would keep tariffs on products between the three nations low, and the United States would benefit in a number of ways. American wheat and dairy farmers would be able to sell far more of their goods into Canada. A higher percentage of the parts used in making automobiles would have to be made in North America, meaning more American jobs. And intellectual property rights would be strengthened, thus protecting American ingenuity.
Other benefits of passage of the USMCA are lower prices for consumers, and a greater variety of products at our stores. For workers, job opportunities should expand, and higher wages should result. And perhaps most importantly, as other economies around the world are slowing, the USMCA should result in continuing growth in the American economy.
The bottom line is, it will take both Republican and Democratic support to pass this critically important trade deal. Will the inherently divisive nature of an impeachment process poison the well of cooperation that will be necessary to pass the USMCA? And will Democrats be willing to give President Trump a “win” with a major election just around the corner? We’ll know soon enough.