It has been a tumultuous time for North American commercial relations. For too long, President Trump has misled the public about the supposed failures of the North American Free Trade Agreement, sowing uncertainty and doubt about the future of the trading relationship. The next few months will be crucial to repair that damage. Two policy changes could help deliver much-needed certainty and grease the skids for NAFTA’s replacement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

First, the United States needs to lift the dubious “national security” tariffs it levied on Mexico and Canadian steel and aluminum imports. Doing so would be savvy politics and policy. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade policy, recently said Congress will not pass the USMCA as long as the steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports remain in place. Echoing Brady, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, suggested after meeting with the respective foreign ministers that neither Canada nor Mexico will move forward to ratify USMCA as long as the tariffs remain in place.