Trade & International

Free and fair trade policies and agreements are vital to American economic prosperity. We rely on mutually beneficial trade relationships with our neighbors near and far because open, two-way trade and investment means more opportunity for every American.

“The CEO members of Business Roundtable, who lead companies with more than 15 million employees, strongly support congressional passage of USMCA implementing legislation this year. We stand united to preserve and modernize North American trade, which supports over 12 million jobs and a strong U.S. economy.” -Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO of Cummins, Inc.

BRT Urges Passage of USMCA

On March 21, Business Roundtable issued a statement calling on Congress to pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement this year.

Trade with Canada and Mexico

Learn more about trade with Canada and Mexico, how it benefits U.S. workers and businesses, why withdrawal would harm America’s economy and the Business Roundtable priorities for negotiations to modernize the agreement.

Trade with Canada and Mexico supports over 12 million American jobs. Modernizing and strengthening these partnerships provides a unique opportunity to build on this success and to expand U.S. economic growth and job creation.

China engages in unfair trade and investment practices, preventing U.S. companies from competing on a level playing field and hurting U.S. workers. Business Roundtable urges the Administration to negotiate solutions to these long-standing issues with China and de-escalate economic tensions and remove broad unilateral tariffs. The Administration should also continue to work with allies to strengthen and sustain reforms in China to provide more stability for the American economy and to help American businesses compete fairly.

Addressing China’s Trade Practices

Learn more about the need for a strategic, long-term approach to address trade barriers in China.

Section 232 Tariffs

Learn more about why Section 232 tariffs are the wrong way to address steel and aluminum global overcapacity, and how those tariffs harm U.S. workers and businesses.

Tariffs are taxes or duties that must be paid on goods being imported into the United States. While the unilateral imposition of tariffs may be permitted under U.S. law under special and circumstances, the misuse of tariffs under these laws can create trade wars that hurt American companies, workers, farmers, and consumers.

From manufacturing and transportation to information technology, construction, professional services and agriculture, and everything in between, every sector of our economy benefits from trade. With more than 95 percent of the world’s population and 80 percent of the world’s purchasing power outside the United States, future economic growth and jobs for the United States increasingly depend on expanding U.S. trade and investment opportunities in the global marketplace.

Benefits of Trade

International trade and investment supports economic growth in every state, and now supports nearly 39 million American jobs. Learn more in our interactive story on the Benefits of Trade