December 5, 2018
At the time of this writing, the airwaves are saturated with the high drama of the Supreme Court. Seemingly clawing for attention in this “chattersphere” is President Donald Trump’s newly renegotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the new name for what we have known since 1994 as NAFTA.
While the principal provisions of this agreement don’t directly affect the corrugated, folding carton, rigid box, or partition industries, we will be the beneficiaries of the downstream flow of business from our customers who supply into the auto, dairy, and related manufacturing sectors. In addition, new requirements for worker-organizing rights and higher pay scales in Mexico will put that country on a more level playing field with the U.S. and Canada, which for decades have had these protections and higher wages in place.
I am happy that this new agreement has come through the yearlong negotiating mill. For many months now, the uncertainty over the future of our $1 trillion North American trilateral trade relationship has cast a shadow on what is otherwise a very prosperous and growing economy. Now, it’s back to business as usual for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Or is it? According to an article in Bloomberg News in early October, Senate ratification of the new agreement is “not a foregone conclusion.” Bloomberg quoted Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, as saying, “I know people are still going through the details, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that it will get confirmation by the Senate.” By way of a civics review, recall that it’s the U.S. Senate that must approve foreign treaties and “advise and consent” on various presidential appointments (reference “high drama of the Supreme Court,” above).
This is where my role as Chair of AICC’s Government Affairs Subcommittee comes in. Whether you agree with my assessment or not, I think it’s important that we in the manufacturing community, and especially our packaging side of it, express our views on this. Of course, I hope you’ll agree that this is a good agreement that’s good for our economy. And if you do, let your senators know this. We’ve made it easy for you to do this—scan the QR code at the top of this page, and it will take you to the U.S. Senate Directory.
We have yet another opportunity for a win for our economy. Let’s do it!
Eric Elgin is owner of Oklahoma Interpak and Chair of AICC’s Government Affairs Subcommittee. He can be reached at 918-687-1681 or eric@okinterpak.com.
