One of west Kentucky’s economic development groups is now on the record as supporting the North American trade deal championed by President Trump.
The Board of the West Kentucky Regional Chamber Alliance approved a position of support earlier this month that strongly encourages Congress to ratify the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The agreement would guarantee almost all US exports would enter North American markets tariff-free.
Fran Johnson is the coordinator of the West Kentucky Regional Chamber Alliance. She said the implementation of the USMCA would bring economic benefits to west Kentucky, particularly to industries including agriculture and various regional riverports.
“This particular one is going to impact a lot of western Kentucky,” Johnson said. “We’re a big agricultural area around here and we have several riverports that ship a lot of goods.”
Johnson said her organization has reached out to members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation, including Congressman James Comer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to lobby for the agreement’s ratification.
In an op-ed, Vice President Mike Pence argued the trade deal would add more than $68 billion to the United States economy and create 176,000 American jobs. Many Kentucky officials also expressed support for the deal including Governor Matt Bevin, Congressman Andy Barr and Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles.
The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement has been ratified by the Mexican Senate, but still awaits approval from the United States Congress and Canadian Parliament.
This story has been changed to reflect a clarification by Fran Johnson regarding specific companies who would potentially benefit from the agreement.
