By Laura Manion<\/p>\n
The first major review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is underway, and few states have more at stake than Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth\u2019s manufacturing, agriculture, energy, and logistics sectors all rely on the stable North American supply chains that power billions of dollars in economic activity each year.<\/p>\n
From steel in Pittsburgh to medical devices in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania\u2019s strengths depend on reliable partnerships with Canada and Mexico — our two largest export markets.<\/p>\n
Under the terms of the USMCA, the United States, Mexico, and Canada must conduct a joint review in July 2026 to decide whether to extend the pact for another 16 years come 2036.<\/p>\n
The United States has already begun its internal process — gathering public comments, holding hearings, and evaluating how the agreement has affected key industries. The results of that review will shape the future of North American trade for decades.Pennsylvania\u2019s economic identity is often defined by its manufacturing heritage, but the modern Commonwealth is far more diverse — and far more connected to North American markets — than many realize. <\/p>\n
Canada and Mexico rank as our top two customers, helping support the more than $50 billion in goods Pennsylvania exports each year. <\/p>\n
To understand why this review matters, it\u2019s worth recalling what the USMCA fixed. While NAFTA laid the groundwork for free trade in the 1990s, the USMCA modernized that framework for today\u2019s economy. It strengthened rules of origin to keep manufacturing and auto production in North America, added a gold-standard digital trade chapter that NAFTA never had, updated protections for intellectual property, improved access for U.S. agriculture, and created tougher, enforceable labor and environmental standards.<\/p>\n
The agreement is working. Since it passed, trade between the three countries has increased by 50%. And more than half of all U.S. manufacturing trade with Canada and Mexico now moves through intra-firm supply chains — meaning companies design, assemble, and ship components back and forth, often crossing borders multiple times before becoming finished products.<\/p>\n
That level of integration is essential for manufacturers in Pittsburgh, Erie, Allentown, and York. Losing it would inject uncertainty into investment decisions, raise costs for Pennsylvania businesses, and push production toward foreign competitors.<\/p>\n
The USMCA also modernized the rules that keep Pennsylvania\u2019s service and technology sectors competitive. Philadelphia\u2019s fast-growing cell-and-gene-therapy ecosystem relies on data flows, IP protections, and regulatory coordination that NAFTA couldn\u2019t provide. The same is true for logistics hubs in the Lehigh Valley and Harrisburg, where distribution networks depend on predictable border operations to move goods efficiently across the continent. <\/p>\n
Agriculture has just as much at stake. Pennsylvania produces more mushrooms than any other state — more than 60% of U.S. production — and relies on consistent, science-based market access to Canada and Mexico. Our dairy, poultry, beef, apple, and hardwood producers depend on those same markets. The USMCA strengthened sanitary rules and stabilized trade in a way that supports family farms from Lancaster to Potter County.<\/p>\n
The 2026 joint review should reaffirm what Pennsylvanians already know: the USMCA works. Yes, there is room to strengthen the agreement — mainly by improving customs transparency, enforcing existing commitments, and deepening cooperation on digital trade and cybersecurity. <\/p>\n
But these are refinements, not rewrites. Renewing the agreement is also a bipartisan priority. The USMCA passed Congress with overwhelming cross-party support, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle continue to see strong North American trade as essential to U.S. competitiveness. For a state built on making, growing, powering, and moving things, the path forward is clear. Renewing the USMCA is essential to Pennsylvania\u2019s economic future — and to keeping the Commonwealth building for decades to come.<\/p>\n
Laura Manion is the president and CEO of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Laura Manion The first major review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is underway, and few states have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103259,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49969,22809,60,40656,24607,1126,49970,35492,49971,61,55,13244,49972,16384,24748,2265,15177,49973,1446,744,49974,19738,5849,18170,1396,49975,27841,16069,2594,59,49976,13428,49977,49978,49979,49980,296,49981,1881,5681,49982,13822,49983,49984,49985,3408,49986,7725,594,4800,7029,28,30,29,18177,6741,7739,49987,50,12785,49988,49989,13270,5694,4500,66,8576,49990,1825,62],"class_list":["post-103258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-assembly","tag-bear","tag-business","tag-commerce","tag-commercial","tag-company","tag-downturn","tag-economic","tag-economic-downturn","tag-economy","tag-employment","tag-exchange","tag-factories","tag-factory","tag-federal","tag-finance","tag-financial","tag-free-trade","tag-general","tag-government","tag-grits","tag-guild","tag-in-person","tag-industrial","tag-industry","tag-inperson","tag-international","tag-issues","tag-jobs","tag-labor","tag-labour","tag-leader","tag-liberal","tag-liberal-party-of-canada","tag-liberals","tag-libs","tag-local","tag-lpc","tag-manufacturing","tag-market","tag-member-of-parliament","tag-mexico","tag-minister","tag-mp","tag-nafta","tag-news-conference","tag-newser","tag-north-america","tag-organization","tag-p-m","tag-party","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-plant","tag-pm","tag-political","tag-politician","tag-politics","tag-press-conference","tag-prime-minister","tag-recession","tag-representative","tag-trade","tag-union","tag-united-states","tag-usa","tag-usmca","tag-workers","tag-workforce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}