Testimony of Nasim Fussell, Vice President for Trade and International at the USTR Public Hearing on the Operation of the USMCA

Good morning. My name is Nasim Fussell, and I serve as the Vice President for Trade and International policy at Business Roundtable – an association of more than 200 CEOs of leading U.S. companies across every sector. Our member companies support one in four American jobs and almost a quarter of U.S. GDP.

Business Roundtable strongly supports USMCA. In 2019, President Trump secured important new commitments from Canada and Mexico that protect American jobs, strengthen domestic manufacturing and grow the U.S. economy. These commitments are delivering significant benefits. Since USMCA entered into force, Canada and Mexico have invested $775 billion in the United States and North American trade has increased by 50%.

Extending USMCA in a timely manner is critical to the vitality of U.S. businesses. As the first joint review approaches, Business Roundtable calls for stronger North American integration, enhanced cooperation on economic security, and restoration of preferential treatment for all USMCA-compliant goods.

USMCA is integral to North America’s competitiveness, and Business Roundtable urges the Administration to strengthen the trilateral relationship. For more than 30 years, integrated production networks across the United States, Mexico and Canada have supported jobs, expanded market access and enabled firms to develop efficient supply chains that reflect the comparative advantage of each economy. Companies utilize resources and inputs from all three countries and manufacturing processes take goods over borders multiple times before completion. Regionalization keeps production close to home, under shared USMCA labor and environmental standards, and strengthens supply chain resilience by reducing our dependence on other regions and non-market economies.

Every dollar of manufacturing imports from North America supports more domestic economic activity and U.S. jobs than trade with more distant partners. OECD data show that about 15% of the value in U.S. manufacturing imports from Canada and Mexico reflects U.S. work coming back home. By contrast, imports from China contain less than 2% in U.S. value.

These linkages illustrate why the common trilateral framework with harmonized rules of origin, customs procedures and digital trade disciplines is far more efficient than what could be achieved with separate bilateral deals.

The joint review is also an opportunity to enhance North American cooperation on economic security. This can be done through policy alignment on export controls, investment screening, trusted technologies, and excess capacity from non-market economies. Greater alignment would strengthen the integrity of and trust in integrated markets within North America. Any such cooperation should ensure the benefits of USMCA accrue to the parties and provide mutual defenses against economic coercion. Business Roundtable encourages USTR to work closely with the private sector to ensure that any new policy alignments reflect industry and supply chain realities.

In exchange for such coordination, the Parties should reaffirm their commitment to preferential trade among each other. All goods complying with USMCA rules should be exempt from tariffs. Restoring preferential treatment for all USMCA compliant goods, including goods subject to Section 232 measures, will increase sourcing and trade with trusted partners that have committed to the highest standard trade rules. It will ensure that, even if we experience reduced trade with other regions, we do not restrict North American trade and investment flows.

While important compliance and implementation issues need to be addressed, the United States is best served by working with Canada and Mexico to improve the operation of USMCA. The first Trump Administration skillfully negotiated a mechanism in the joint review that ensures USMCA is always underpinned by our domestic interests. Upon signing USMCA into law, President Trump said that it is the largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history. Business Roundtable was proud to support USMCA then and encourages a timely extension of the agreement in 2026 that strengthens North American integration and competitiveness.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have about my testimony or any points in Business Roundtable’s written comments.

Thank you.