PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- The White House praising the new NAFTA deal, now called the 'United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.' The USMCA, affects nearly a half billion North American consumers, governing $1.2 trillion worth of trade. A team with Maine International Trade Center was one of more than 150 different state and local offices on a conference call, Monday, to learn key provisions in the new agreement. The call was hosted by the Office of U.S. Trade Representatives.
"There is great interest in the new trade agreement reached with Canada and Mexico," said Wade Merritt, the President of Maine International Trade Center and State Director of International Trade. "The deal has 34 chapters, which we will review carefully over the next several days in order to get a more complete understanding of potential impacts on Maine companies doing business in these vitally important markets."
The MITC says last year 45% of Maine exports went to Canada. Maine's top trading partner is Canada with exports valued at $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, Mexico purchases over $33 million in goods and services, and is ranked Maine's 9th largest trading partner.
USMCA is expected to be signed by American, Canadian and Mexican leaders in November. It still must be ratified by the legislatures of all three nations. Congress isn’t expected to vote on it until 2019.
