ICYMI: Business Roundtable Makes the Case for Extending USMCA at Brookings Event
March 9, 2026
Photo: Fussell speaks during a panel discussion with Juan Cortina Gallardo, Vice President of Mexico’s Business Coordinating Council, and Matthew Holmes, Executive Vice President, International and Chief of Public Policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, moderated by Christopher Sands, Visiting Fellow, Global Economy and Development at Brookings.
Last week, Business Roundtable Vice President for Trade and International Nasim Fussell participated in a panel discussion on the upcoming joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the future of North American trade at Brookings’ launch of “USMCA Forward 2026.” The panel brought together representatives from the U.S., Mexican and Canadian business communities for an in-depth conversation on the importance of USMCA to all three economies ahead of the joint review later this year.
Fussell highlighted the economic significance of USMCA to the United States, in particular, and why it is critical to extend the trilateral agreement. Here’s what she said:
On what’s at stake:
- “Trade between our three countries supports 13 million U.S. jobs. Since USMCA went into effect, $775 billion have been invested into the United States. We have, among the three countries, $1.9 trillion in total trade. This is in goods and services, and Canada and Mexico are the top export markets for U.S. manufactured and agricultural goods. So, I think the data speaks for itself. [USMCA] has been a success for U.S. business, for U.S. agriculture, for U.S. service providers.”
On strong bipartisan support for USMCA:
- “We have been spending a lot of time on the Hill sharing our support for USMCA, and all we hear is bipartisan support for USMCA when we are up there having these discussions. It’s quite overwhelming, and it’s not surprising. This was one of the most historically bipartisan votes in the United States Congress for a trade agreement, and certainly in the modern trade policy era.”
On why extending USMCA is critical for the U.S. economy:
- “From the U.S. perspective, we need to be a part of this with our North American counterparts. If we are not, they will continue to have each other — they’re part of the CPTPP — and we will be found alone … that is not what we would like to see. … I think we will remain a trilateral trading block, and certainly you have the weight of the trilateral business community behind that.”
