# USMCA Offers Stability for U.S. Cotton in Key Markets

Author: Jim Steadman
Published: 2020-02-03
Canonical URL: https://www.cottongrower.com/cotton-news/usmca-offers-stability-for-u-s-cotton-in-key-markets/

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The National Cotton Council (NCC) applauded President Trump’s signing of the Congressionally-approved U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

NCC Chairman Mike Tate said this agreement will provide a boost in trade certainty for U.S. cotton and cotton textile products in the North American market. Mexico is the second largest export market for U.S. cotton textile/apparel products, and Canada is the fourth largest for these goods. Mexico is also a top market for U.S. raw cotton.

Tate, an Alabama cotton producer, said the USMCA – which updates and modifies the North American Free Trade Agreement – includes a textile chapter that offers significant improvements for domestic textile manufacturers and workers. Those provisions include:

- A stronger rule of origin for certain regional textile products
- Strong customs enforcement language
- Assurance that a significant amount that the Department of Homeland Security spends annually on clothing and textiles is on domestically-produced products.

*Based on information provided by the National Cotton Council*