WASHINGTON, D.C. –Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after the formal meeting for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) review process concluded with outstanding issues remaining to be resolved:
“The Trump Administration won important victories for American workers and businesses with the original negotiation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but has correctly determined that simply rubber stamping the status quo is not in the best interest of the United States. Mexico and Canada have in several cases not lived up to their existing commitments under the USMCA – whether it is Mexico’s wide range of policies that discriminate against U.S. investors in energy and other sectors or the fact that Canada continues to discriminate against American dairy farmers.
“The review process provides the parties an opportunity to address these concerns before committing to a further extension of the USMCA. Addressing existing trade challenges is a critical starting point in building confidence that the American people will be able to count on the commitments we secure in trade agreements and that our trade policies are successfully incentivizing more jobs, investment, and manufacturing growth here at home.
“We must also ensure any updated USMCA agreement closes loopholes that allow non-USMCA countries to obtain significant benefits from the preferential tariff treatment provided under the agreement. Eliminating free-riding while maintaining high standards within the region will not only level the playing field for American workers and manufacturers but will also strengthen the North American economy and give us the tools to compete with the rest of the world and win. I commend Mexico’s willingness to engage in productive conversations with the United States and hope Canada sufficiently addresses U.S. concerns so that it will also join formal negotiations. The Trump Administration rightfully has taken this review process seriously, and I am confident that President Trump will continue to fight every day for American workers and job creators by maintaining his legacy of a revised USMCA as the gold standard trade agreement.”
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