Today, Brandon Farris, Vice President in charge of government affairs at the Steel Manufacturers Association, testified before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the operation of the USMCA, in preparation for the first joint review.

“A strengthened USMCA could be instrumental in boosting steel demand across the region, preventing North American trade flows from serving as channels for global overcapacity to flood the U.S. market and advancing both the American steel industry and the Administration’s trade policy goals. Achieving this will require several targeted improvements,” said Farris, “safeguarding the strength of the U.S. steel industry, and the broader American manufacturing base, will require the U.S. to maintain our strong trade defenses. For that reason, we strongly urge USTR not to lower or exempt Canada or Mexico from the section 232 steel tariffs.”

Read the full testimony here.