Effective trade agreements are essential tools for strengthening American manufacturing and ensuring U.S. industries can compete on a level global playing field. They work in two critical ways: by directly lowering tariffs and by reducing non‑tariff barriers through smarter, more coordinated regulatory practices.
Regulatory cooperation is especially important for the chemical industry. It helps prevent duplicative or misaligned requirements, streamlines compliance, and improves the efficiency of supply chains—all while maintaining strong protections for human health, safety, and the environment. Well‑designed agreements give the United States and its trading partners a platform to align regulatory approaches, minimize unnecessary trade friction, and support innovation and investment across sectors that depend on chemistry.
To ensure regulatory and trade barriers do not undermine U.S. competitiveness, affordability, or economic growth, ACC is urging the Administration to:
- Fully implement all provisions of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), with a strong focus on chemical‑sector regulatory cooperation, good regulatory practices, technical barriers to trade, trade facilitation, Rules of Origin for chemical substances, digital trade, and marine litter commitments.
- Continuously identify improvements to USMCA in advance of its 2026 six‑year review to ensure the agreement remains a durable, pro‑manufacturing, pro‑competitiveness framework.
- Strengthen regulatory cooperation in new and ongoing trade negotiations with priority partners—including the United Kingdom, European Union, Brazil, India, China, and the Republic of Korea—as well as rapidly growing emerging markets such as Argentina, Colombia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
- Ensure trading partners uphold transparency commitments in free trade agreements and at the World Trade Organization—a critical component of predictable, rules‑based trade.
- Reinforce regulatory cooperation and good regulatory practices through the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, including work within the APEC Chemical Dialogue and across related workstreams.
- Support effective dispute settlement mechanisms in trade agreements, including investor‑state dispute settlement where appropriate, to give U.S. businesses predictable avenues to address unfair treatment or discriminatory barriers.
A modern trade agenda that combines tariff reduction with strong regulatory cooperation will help keep American chemistry competitive, strengthen supply chains, reduce costs for manufacturers and consumers, and reinforce U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing, innovation, and economic growth.
