Rochester Hills Mayor Attends Trade Agreement Signing

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Among the leaders in the room when President Trump signed the United States - Mexico - Canada Agreement (USMCA) was Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan K. Barnett.

The historic moment was held on the South Lawn of the White House on Jan. 29 and the agreement is work Barnett says he stands by. The new agreement received bipartisan support in Congress and has been widely supported by the automotive industry and other manufacturers, he points out.

Barnett currently serves as the 77th President of the U.S.Conference of Mayors and reinforced the importance of the agreement to America’s mayors.

“All along the way, mayors consistently called for the bipartisan spirit that guided these discussions and yielded a stronger agreement," he said. "We hope this can serve as a template moving forward as we continue to partner with Congress and the Administration on solving the biggest issues affecting the American people.”

Pamela Valentik, manager of Economic Development for the City of Rochester Hills, was also supportive.

"Business leaders in our community, many of which are focused on the automotive industry, agree that USMCA makes them more competitive internationally, while providing much-needed certainty on trade and the confidence to make intelligent investment and expansion decisions," she stated.

Under the agreement, automakers will be required to produce cars with 75% of parts originating from the U.S., Canada or Mexico in order to qualify for duty-free import status.

"We applaud President Trump for signing the legislation to implement USMCA," Barnett said. "This new bipartisan trade framework stands to make our country stronger by boosting businesses and increasing the number of jobs available to American workers in local communities across the country.”

It replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The next step is for Canada to ratify the agreement and for all three countries to meet obligations outlined in the deal before it goes into effect.