Dana CEO says USMCA brings certainty

WARREN, Mich.—Dana Inc. CEO Jim Kamsickas endorsed President Trump's signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement at an event in Warren, at one of the supplier's plants.

"We believe this law will further reduce the chance for disruptions and allow North American vehicle production to remain competitive globally," Kamsickas said ahead of the president's speech during his visit to the plant on Jan. 30.

Kamsickas later told Automotive News that Dana's support of the new North American trade agreement comes from a need for certainty.

"You have to have certainty to understand how you're going to do capital deployment, how you're going to align your training and M&A activities," he said. "NAFTA was written 25 years ago. As it relates to the transactional stuff of running a business, like how to get a trailer from Mexico over the border up to Detroit, or vice versa, up into Canada, you would be amazed how much waste and uncertainty you have trying to deal with trade amongst our countries.

"I don't think it's just for Dana," he added. "If you take it back to the OEM level, how are they going to be able to export out of the U.S. if they don't have just as an efficient value chain as so many else around the world?"

Dana is one of the auto industry's oldest suppliers, with roots dating back to 1904. It is based near Toledo, Ohio, and ranks No. 33 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global auto suppliers, with worldwide sales to auto makers of $8.14 billion in 2018.