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Pacific Northwest roundtable urges state resolutions, coordinated push to renew USMCA
Summary
State and regional officials, business leaders and Canadian and Mexican consuls urged renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement at a Penwar roundtable, highlighted sectoral benefits and agreed to circulate a draft joint memorial and introduce companion state resolutions to press Congress and the USTR ahead of the review.
At a Pacific Northwest roundtable convened by Penwar, U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials, industry leaders and state legislators urged renewed support for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and agreed to press federal policymakers to preserve and strengthen the trilateral trade pact.
The discussion, led by Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck and featuring Congressmember Rick Larson, Gov. Bob Ferguson and consul generals from the United States, Canada and Mexico, focused on the USTR-led review of USMCA and the economic consequences for agriculture, energy, building materials and manufacturing if the agreement falters.
Why it matters: Panelists described USMCA renewal as central to regional jobs, investment and affordability. Congressman Rick Larson said the agreement supports thousands of local jobs and warned of the harm from recent tariff actions, saying, "Trade good, tariffs bad." Gov. Bob Ferguson said Washington state filed a friend-of-the-court brief opposing recently imposed tariffs and highlighted the state’s export role.
Speakers and key claims: Larson said land-border traffic from British Columbia into Whatcom County fell about 36% compared with 2024 and described roughly 10,000 jobs in his district tied to cross-border commerce; he also said he has introduced legislation to curb administration use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify tariffs. Gov. Ferguson told attendees the state joined labor and businesses in a Supreme Court filing opposing the tariffs and cited Washington’s $58 billion in exports.
Regional and international perspectives: Canadian and Mexican officials urged coordinated trilateral outreach. Canada’s consul general in Seattle said roughly 85% of Canada‑U.S. trade still flows tariff-free under USMCA and highlighted multi‑year growth in trilateral trade; Mexico’s consul general described USMCA as an instrument of strategic stability and reported robust foreign investment and projects under Mexico’s industrial strategy.
Communications and next steps: Organizers and legislators discussed public messaging options, including joint op-eds and advertising. Penwar circulated a draft joint memorial — a formal letter to Congress — and participants agreed to broader interstate outreach. Representative Michelle Ryu said she and Senator Behnke "have agreed to introduce in our separate chambers a resolution each," with bipartisan, bicameral sponsorship intended to amplify the message to Congress and the USTR ahead of the review.
No formal votes were taken at the roundtable. Organizers said they would share the memorial draft with additional state and provincial partners and pursue coordinated advocacy in the coming weeks as the USTR review process continues.
What remains open: Speakers described three possible review outcomes — agreement to extend and update USMCA, an automatic annual review cycle if parties cannot agree, or early withdrawal by any party — and underscored that the federal government’s negotiating posture in Washington, D.C., will affect the ease of reaching a multilateral solution.
The roundtable closed without formal action; organizers said they would continue outreach to congressional delegations and to provincial and state partners.
