U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Votes to Move USMCA Forward

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, voted in favor of moving the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) forward. All three committees voted to pass the USMCA on a strong bipartisan basis today, clearing the way for a Senate floor vote as soon as Thursday.

Baldwin announced her support for the USMCA last week, highlighting key improvements from the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that she pushed for in order to ensure that the new trade agreement works better for Wisconsin dairy farmers and workers.  

“President Trump’s trade wars have hurt our Wisconsin economy and more than 1,900 dairy farms have gone out of business since he took office. The President’s deal with Mexico and Canada fell short but I support the improvements Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats won to make this a better trade deal that I can support. The USMCA implementing legislation includes many changes I have pushed for with the Trump administration, including truly enforceable labor standards that benefit our workers, and making sure that we confront Canada’s unfair trade barriers and Mexico’s limits on Wisconsin cheese exports so that we have a trade deal that increases market access for our Wisconsin dairy farmers and cheesemakers,” said Senator Baldwin.

“NAFTA, which I opposed, cost Wisconsin jobs and needed to be fixed. I am voting for the USMCA because it is a better deal for farmers, manufacturers, businesses and workers,” Baldwin continued. “Going forward, President Trump needs to understand Wisconsin needs better trade deals, not trade wars and that in order to stop the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs we not only need fair trade deals, our workers need tax reform that rewards their hard work and doesn’t encourage corporations to send their jobs to other countries.”

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the USMCA last month. After Senate passage, the legislation will head to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Background:

February 2, 2017: Senator Baldwin met with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and pushed for addressing unfair Canadian trade barriers.

March 28, 2017: Senator Baldwin pressed President Trump to address the situation in trade discussions with Canada.

April 12, 2017: Senator Baldwin called on Acting U.S. Trade Representative Stephen Vaughn, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Acting Secretary of Agriculture Michael Young to immediately address this issue with the Canadian government.

April 27, 2017: Senator Baldwin led fellow dairy state Senators in urging Secretary Perdue to take immediate action with USDA programs that can assist dairy farmers harmed by restrictive Canadian trade barriers.

June 13, 2017: Senator Baldwin Questions Secretary Perdue on Unfair Canadian Dairy Trade Barriers and USDA Budget Cuts.

November 15, 2017: Senator Baldwin led 17 of her Senate colleagues in a letter to United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, asking him to improve the proposed labor chapter in USMCA.

April 11, 2018: Senator Baldwin Presses Agriculture Secretary on Wisconsin Trade and Dairy Priorities.

May 15, 2018: Senator Baldwin led a bipartisan group of Senators to urge U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to ensure Mexico honors its existing trade commitments and rejects the EU’s unfair trade proposal that will harm American cheese exporters, processors and dairy farmers.