Labor secretary talks up USMCA trade deal in stop at Port Tampa Bay

TAMPA, Fla. - Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia lent his ear to local officials Tuesday at Port Tampa Bay during a time he characterizes as “amazing” for Florida’s economy.

“The state has a three-percent unemployment rate, which is an all-time low for the state of Florida,” Scalia said. “Just a booming economy.”

Joined by the port’s president and CEO Paul Anderson, Scalia spent the afternoon at a business roundtable with business leaders in the maritime and manufacturing industry.

“I want to thank you for listening to the needs and concerns of some of the companies here,” Anderson said to the secretary. 

The secretary toured the state’s largest port, which Anderson says has an impact on the region’s economy to the tune of $18 billion.

“We are also one of the most diverse ports in the nation, and as such we impact over 85,000 jobs in the Tampa Bay region -- that’s direct and indirect related,” Anderson said.

The port's Paul Anderson (right) welcomes Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia (left).

The secretary’s visit comes on the heels of President Trump’s signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, or USMCA, something Anderson says will improve the future American workers.

“Companies are already making investments knowing that USMCA is law, that it’s going to be a great boost to our economy,” he said. “We expect as many as 500,000 jobs to be created by USMCA, and an impact of GDP in the U.S. of close to $250 billion.”

So far, the U.S. and Mexico have signed onto the agreement, but Canada is still in the process of ratification. The “New NAFTA,” as it’s been nicknamed, updates the quarter-century-old trade deal, first negotiated by President George Bush and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

The new deal promises stronger protections for workers, expanded markets for U.S. farmers, and steers more car production to the United States.