David Bossie: Let Trump be Trump on trade

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WH touts USMCA trade deal as a win for North America

President Trump says the plan addresses NAFTA's problems and benefits farmers; Blake Burman reports from the White House on the reaction.

As the FBI conducts its seventh background investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the mainstream media wants you to believe that the Trump administration is otherwise paralyzed by the left’s shameful smear campaign of a good man.  This narrative from the fake news couldn’t be further from the truth because President Donald J. Trump is focused like a laser beam delivering on his promises for the American worker in the form of jobs, jobs, jobs.

This week’s announcement of a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is not just another promise made and promise kept by President Trump.  USMCA is also a celebration of the smartest, toughest, and largest trade deal ever done – with a price tag of some $1.2 trillion in annual trade.

Just what’s in the USMCA for America?  You can think of it in three distinct parts.

First, the new agreements on increased regional content for industries like automobiles coupled with strong protections for labor will bring back much of the supply chain of America that has gone offshore.  In the process, North America will once again become the globe’s manufacturing powerhouse; and that will mean more manufacturing jobs and higher wages for the heartland.

Second, the old NAFTA was signed in an era prior to the existence of things like digital trade and cutting edge biologics – complex drugs designed for some of the hitherto difficult to cure or control diseases.  This new agreement fills in those blanks and in these ways modernizes the old NAFTA – or “SHAFTA” as its righteous critics had it.

Third, both farmers and ranchers will benefit from agreements that will increase market access for Americans in products like dairy, peanuts, and sugar.   This is important because, as the USTR notes, “Canada and Mexico are our first and third largest exports markets for U.S. food and agricultural products, making up 28 percent of total food and agricultural exports in 2017.  These exports support more than 325,000 American jobs.”

The bigger takeaways from this deal have to do with what it says about President Trump, his performance on trade, and his negotiating strategy.  As one of his top economic advisors, Peter Navarro, said correctly this week on Fox News, President Trump is quietly putting together the best performance on trade and the economy of any modern president.  And this November it’s imperative that we return Republican majorities to Congress so these accomplishments can continue.

President Trump will simply not tolerate any country using the U.S. as its piggy bank, and every country will be held accountable for their unfair and non-reciprocal trade acts. 
 

President Trump’s historic performance is happening quietly because the media under-reports both his economic actions, achievements and successes.  But coupled with 4.2 percent GDP, millions of jobs created, and another promising jobs report due out this Friday, it will be hard to hide this $1.2 trillion USMCA deal from the American public.

As for how this came about at the eleventh hour, from Day One, the naysayers have been criticizing the president for his tough talk on trade and even tougher actions – from the imposition of aluminum, dishwasher, steel, and solar tariffs to the historic action against China’s blatant theft of America’s technological crown jewels.

What these naysayers miss is the fact that the world now knows the president is not a typical politician because he actually says what he means and means what he says.  President Trump will simply not tolerate any country using the U.S. as its piggy bank, and every country will be held accountable for their unfair and non-reciprocal trade acts.   With this president, it’s “America First” all the time!

What the naysayers miss is also the fact that the deals the president is now cutting are tough, smart deals.  Yet, at least in the case of the USMCA, it is a deal that will benefit all parties.

Yes, the new USMCA will create thousands of new manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and boost our auto industry in particular.  But the USMCA will also strengthen the manufacturing bases of Canada and Mexico.  These joint gains are possible because we as a hemisphere will bring back the factories and jobs that have gone offshore.

So kudos to President Trump and to the best United States trade team this nation has ever known: Robert Lighthizer, Peter Navarro and Jared Kushner.  This is a great week for both America and North America.

This new USMCA, coupled with the renegotiated South Korea deal last week, the opening of negotiations with Japan, and progress with Europe should also be a wakeup call to those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, both on Capitol Hill and in the mainstream media.  Please know this: When you criticize Donald Trump on trade, you contribute nothing positively to America – you simply run the risk of weakening our position.  So please stop doing that – let Trump be Trump on trade.