Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement after U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai announced that the United States has prevailed in the first dispute settlement panel proceeding ever brought under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA):
“Throughout House Democrats’ work to improve the USMCA, we knew that strong enforcement mechanisms would be key to the deal’s success. The improvements to the USMCA that we negotiated finally made the agreement enforceable by preventing a country from being able to block the formation of a dispute settlement panel. Today’s landmark victory illustrates how important enforcement of our trade agreements remains to ensure that America’s workers, farmers, and industries benefit from these deals.
I applaud the Biden Administration and USTR Ambassador Tai for their leadership in implementing the USMCA and standing up for our nation’s interests by holding our trading partners accountable for the commitments they have made under the agreement."
