Congressional Democrats Spell Out Fixes Needed to North American Trade Deal

Fifty-eight House Democrats, led by fair trade champion Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, have sent a letter to President Donald Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer spelling out changes needed for the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to finally deliver on its promised benefits to working families.

The USMCA is the amended version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed during the first Trump administration.

“Since enactment of the USMCA, multinational corporations have continued to use the threat of offshoring as leverage wielded against workers standing up for dignity on the job and a share of the profits generated by their hard work – and far too often, enabled by our trade deals, companies have acted on these threats. The U.S. trade deficit with Mexico and Canada has significantly increased, and surging USMCA imports have undermined American workers and farmers and firms in the auto, steel, aerospace, and other sectors. Under the current USMCA rules, this ongoing damage is likely to worsen,” wrote the legislators.

The letter outlines “significant changes” needed in areas including labor and environmental enforcement, rules of origin, public procurement, access to medicine, online privacy and more.  It also reaffirms that “the revised agreement will require approval by Congress per its exclusive constitutional authority.”

Initial signers included Reps. Rosa DeLauro, Frank Mrvan, Ro Khanna, Brad Sherman, Debbie Dingell, Andre Carson, Josh Riley, Val Hoyle, Jan Schakowsky, John Garamendi, Mark Pocan, Donald Norcross, Melanie Stansbury, Chris Deluzio, Becca Balint, Nikki Budzinski, Rashida Tlaib, James McGovern, Paul Tonko, Yvette Clarke, Jill Tokuda, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Stephen Lynch, Johnny Olszewski Jr., Brendan Boyle, Delia Ramirez, Marcy Kaptur, Henry “Hank” Johnson Jr, Betty McCollum, Jerrold Nadler, Mary Gay Scanlon, Frank Pallone Jr., Greg Casar, Dan Goldman, Chellie Pingree, Julie Johnson, Norma Torres, Sylvia Garcia, Mark DeSaulnier, Jahanna Hayes, Pramila Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Valarie Foushee, Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, Nydia Velázquez, Thomas Suozzi, Hillary Scholten, Grace Meng, Sean Casten, Dina Titus, Lateefah Simon, Ayanna Pressley, Joseph Morelle, Jamie Raskin, Robert “Bobby” Scott, Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. and Wesley Bell.

The letter was supported by Citizens Trade Campaign and many of our member organizations.

Read a PDF of the letter online here.