Congressman Malinowski Votes to Pass USMCA

Statement

Today, Congressman Malinowski voted to pass the bipartisan United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). After months of re-negotiation, House Democrats reached a deal with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on a series of significant improvements to the Trump Administration's proposed agreement that will set the highest standards for enforcement and enforceability. Specifically, House Democrats have secured improvements in all four areas under negotiation by:

-Enforcement: Fixing loopholes in the USMCA that allowed countries to avoid being held accountable for violating the agreement and introducing new rules of evidence to make enforcement more effective and fair.
-Workers: Creating new mechanisms to monitor labor rights compliance in Mexico and to enforce the commitment that parties trade only in goods that comply with the agreement's rules on workers; and establishing a new enforcement mechanism that will lead to penalties on imports produced at a facility where workers' right to organize has been thwarted.
-Environment: Ensuring that USMCA recognizes the connection between trade and protecting the environment, and establishing Environment-Focused Attachés in Mexico City that will regularly monitor Mexico's environment laws, regulations, and practices.
-Access to Medicines: removing provisions that would have prevented efforts to lower drug costs and improve access to life-saving medicines.

This historic trade agreement is the first to be supported by both the business and labor communities, and has been endorsed by organizations including the AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers (USW), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers.

"The Trump administration negotiated a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, and the House negotiated something even better," Congressman Malinowski said. "The USMCA is the first major trade agreement in modern history that will boost trade while protecting workers, and the first supported both by labor unions and the US Chamber of Commerce. It will set a standard for all future trade deals."

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