HEY, USMCA, THAT’S MY ACRONYM.
Other USMCAS of America speak out
OTTAWA • It was, as one man put it, “definitely the last thing we anticipated having to deal with.”
Organizations that share an acronym with the new United States-mexico-canada Agreement were blindsided earlier this week when the news broke that the North American Free Trade Agreement was dead — and long live the USMCA — provided that all three countries ratify the new deal in their legislatures.
Many observers were initially preoccupied by how USMCA should be pronounced when said aloud — “you-smacka,” for example, or the less-punchy “us-muhkuh,” or simply spelled out “U-s-m-c-a"—butforafew other organizations news of the trade deal’s rebranding was more existential.
The heads of the United States Math Competitions Association and the United States Minority Contractors Association told the Post on Wednesday they’ve had an interesting few days. The United States Motorcycle Coaching Association, however, declined an interview request, with their representative saying in a text message: “if regarding the renaming of NAFTA to USMCA, we don’t have any comments.”
Alexander Katz, who founded the math competitions association just over a year ago, said a friend messaged him a good eight hours after the news had broken to let him know that the first page of Google search results for “USMCA” had taken a dramatic shift.
“My first thought was just kind of in disbelief. I was like, 'Well, what are the odds of this?'" said Katz, who spoke to the Post by phone from Boston.
Still, there are no plans to rebrand. “This trade deal kind of co-opting our name is a little unfortunate,” he said, but, “honestly it is kind of funny.”
Pastor Larry Bullock, a former member of the Illinois House of Representatives, is the president and CEO of the minority contractors association. He said his members “chuckled about it” with him as calls poured in this week. “We got a lot of calls bombarding us,” he said of his day on Monday. “Because we have created a brand over 27 years.”
One reporter asked Bullock if he would consider changing the name and his answer was “absolutely, positively not,” he said.
Bullock said he hopes the trade agreement turns out well. “I like Justin Trudeau. I love Canadians. You can quote me on that, on the record,” he added. “How can you not love Canadians? They’re peace-loving people. I hope that this benefits Canada. I hope it benefits the U.S. too.”