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Biden Administration Follows Chairman Smith and Rep. Smith’s Demand to Enforce USMCA with Mexico to Protect American Farmers

March 06, 2023

WASHINGTON, DC – After urging the Biden Administration to enforce Mexico’s obligations under USMCA, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) and Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith (NE-03) released the following statements upon the announcement that U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has taken the first step toward invoking United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) dispute settlement mechanism to challenge Mexico’s ban on U.S. grown corn and other American-made agriculture products:

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith said: “Today’s announcement is a critical step in the right direction towards protecting American farmers and rural communities. For more than two years while Democrats controlled Congress, the Biden Administration didn’t do enough to challenge Mexico’s ban on American corn. Ways and Means Republicans will continue pressing the Biden Administration and the Government of Mexico to come into compliance with its USMCA obligations.

Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith (NE-03) said: “While this is welcome news, it should have happened sooner. Nonetheless, this is an important step toward formal dispute consultations, and I appreciate Ambassador Tai’s attention to this matter. We must hold our trading partners to their commitments and lead from a position of strength. I hope this is an inflection point for the administration and marks movement toward a more aggressive and proactive trade agenda across the board.”

Timeline:

As America’s second largest export market for corn, quickly restoring access to the Mexican market is critical for the bottom lines of America’s farmers:

  • February 15, 2023: Chairman Smith and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith (NE-03) sent a letter to the Biden Administration demanding they begin a dispute settlement with Mexico after more than two years of Mexico paving the way to unfairly ban most American corn.
  • March 6, 2023: Biden Administration heeds Ways and Means Republicans’ demands and requests technical consultations with Mexico over these measures, the first step toward initiating formal dispute settlement with Mexico under USMCA.

READ: Chairman Smith & A.Smith Letter to the Biden Administration