U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Statement on USMCA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin released the following statement after President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed an agreement to authorize a new trade deal updating the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The House and Senate will now need to write implementing legislation for the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA.)

“NAFTA—which I opposed—cost Wisconsin thousands of manufacturing jobs and needs to be fixed. Wisconsin needs better trade deals, not trade wars so now Congress needs to do its job and make sure this new deal works for farmers, manufacturers, businesses and workers.

“Unfair trade practices have harmed our agriculture economy—Wisconsin has lost 584 dairy farms this year—and trade wars and tariffs are making things worse. We need to make sure that the USMCA confronts Canada’s unfair trade barriers and Mexico’s limits on Wisconsin cheese exports. As Congress works on legislation for this new deal I will be working to ensure that this new deal increases market access for our Wisconsin dairy farmers and cheese makers.

“With the signing of the USMCA there is still more work to be done in Congress to ensure any final agreement stops the outsourcing of jobs to other countries, strengthens Buy America, puts in place real enforcement of labor provisions, and allows the United States to take action on currency manipulation. I will only support this new deal if we can make it a better deal for Wisconsin farmers, manufacturers, businesses and workers.”