United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement

NAHB Supports the Implementation of the USMCA

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) went into effect on July 1, 2020. NAHB lobbied for this trade pact and President Trump signed the USMCA on Jan. 29.

This landmark trade deal is a positive step forward to ease America’s housing affordability challenges.

Building quality, affordable housing for all Americans depends critically on the free and fair trade of building materials with two of our top trade partners — Canada and Mexico. Each year, the U.S. residential construction and remodeling industries rely on tens of billions of dollars in building materials sourced from these two countries. These materials are not simply the constituent parts of a home, they also represent jobs for Americans building those homes.

The price volatility of these imported materials and equipment, driven by policy uncertainty, needlessly drives up housing costs and exacerbates the nation's housing affordability woes.

The USMCA is a major improvement over the outdated 25-year-old NAFTA. By modernizing and strengthening free trade with our largest trading partners, the U.S. International Trade Commission predicts that the USMCA will create more than 175,000 new jobs, add about $70 billion to the economy and boost wages for American workers.