Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is urging lawmakers in Washington to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which she says will help bring stability to her state's agriculture industry.
"Our message to Congress is to please rectify the USMCA. That'll bring a lot of certainty and predictability to the market," Reynolds told Cheddar on Thursday.
Following a year of negotiations, the USMCA was signed by President Donald Trump, now former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last November at the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires. The trade deal was meant to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was established in 1994 and created a free trade zone between the three neighbors.
In an overwhelming vote last week, Mexico's General Congress approved the USMCA making Mexico the first country to fully sign onto the deal. The U.S. Congress and the Canadian Parliament have yet to ratify the pact.
"This is a very important advance," Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said at a press conference last week. "It is a clear sign that there is unity in the country."
Canada and Mexico are currently the second and third largest trading partners with the U.S., with total trade topping $617 billion and $611 billion in 2018 respectively, according to government figures.
The USMCA covers numerous aspects of cross-border trade, including labor laws, environmental standards, and intellectual property rights. It also has specific provisions for various sectors like auto manufacturers, digital services, and agriculture. The U.S., for instance, negotiated hard for easier access to the Canadian dairy market.
Democrats, however, have expressed concerns over weak enforcement measures on workers' rights and environmental regulations, and have refused to hold a vote on the deal in the House.
"Without real enforcement mechanisms we would be locking American workers into another bad deal. A new trade agreement without enforcement is not progress for the American worker, just a press release for the President," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement in May. "We have been on a path to yes, but it must be a path that leads to an agreement that delivers positive results for American workers and farmers."
Nonetheless, Reynolds told Cheddar that Iowa's economy is growing, despite "some significant challenges with agricultural." Iowa is currently the second largest agricultural exporter in the U.S., with nearly 50 percent of its exports going to Canada and Mexico in 2018.
Farmers "really, really, really would like to see USMCA ratified," the Republican governor said.
The Great Resignation has shown some signs of slowing in October with the number of those who quit their jobs falling by 4.7 percent to 4.16 million. This comes as worker strikes and calls for unionization ramp up. Jane Oates, president at WorkingNation joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to discuss the implications.
Cresco, a publicly traded, vertically integrated cannabis and medical marijuana company, recently reported its third quarter earnings. The company met expectations for EDITDA, but slightly missed on revenue, and reported a pretty significant widening of losses this year compared to the same time last year. Charlie Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs, joined Cheddar to explain what happened and his hopes for the future of the company.
a new study by The Buy Safe America Coalition shows retail theft has ballooned to over $68 billion per year. Most of these thefts are the result of something called organized retail crime. Those stolen goods are resold to unsuspecting consumers, often on popular online marketplaces like Facebook marketplace, eBay, OfferUp, and letgo. Mike Combs, Director of Organized Retail Crime Investigations at The Home Depot, joined Cheddar to discuss organized retail crime, how to identify it, and what can be done to stop it.
MARLOWE., the men's skincare and grooming brand, has announced 23-year-old professional boxer Ryan Garcia as "Chief Marlowe Officer" and co-owner of the brand. In this role, Ryan will help boost brand awareness, oversee product design, and strategize digital marketing content for his signature products. Ryan joined Cheddar to discuss the partnership and his boxing career.
Online broker TradeStation Group has landed on Wall Street. The company went public via SPAC deal, valuing the combined venture at $1.4 billion. John Bartleman , President & CEO TradeStation Group, Inc. joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Samsung is getting a major shake-up. In its biggest reshuffle since 2017, the South Korean company is merging its mobile and consumer electronics divisions and replacing its three CEOs with two new leaders. The move is seen as an effort to simplify its structure and focus more on the semiconductor business. Paulina Likos, investing reporter for U.S. News & World Report, explains why Samsung is merging these two units now, and its potential priorities moving forward.
U.S. markets opened lower despite positive jobs data, which saw weekly claims drop to a 52-year low. Kevin Nicholson, Co-CIO Global Fixed Income, RiverFront Investment Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the labor market, inflation, and the impact of the Omicron variant on global markets.
Sarah E. Needleman, reporter at The Wall Street Journal joins Cheddar News to discuss the recent AWS outage and if the internet is too dependent on Amazon.
