American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock thanked the United States House of Representatives for passing the U.S. – Mexico – Canada (USMCA) trade agreement and issued the following statement:
“We thank the House of Representatives for passing USMCA implementing legislation. The modernized USMCA negotiated by the Administration will serve to strengthen the U.S. pulp and paper industry and its products in the North American market. We urge the Senate to work swiftly and follow suit to ensure free and fair cross-border trade and a wider door to competition, economic growth and job creation for our industry and others.
“Our industry’s exports to Mexico and Canada supported 88,000 direct American jobs and in 2018 amounted to $10.1 billion or 44 percent of total exports. The USMCA stands to play a central role in bolstering growth across both areas thanks to strong regulatory standards and provisions to combat illegal logging and associated trade.”