WASHINGTON, DC - Nine months after the enactment of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Implementation Act and four months since the USMCA took effect, Ways and Means Democrats today released their assessment of the Trump Administration’s inadequate USMCA implementation and enforcement efforts. The Committee’s report card evaluates the lacking implementation of labor-related requirements, outlines the administration’s failure to use critical enforcement tools, and details the implementation areas Ways and Means Democrats will continue to monitor closely.
“Last year, House Democrats spent months intensely negotiating with the Trump Administration to ensure that the new North American Free Trade Agreement included stronger provisions for workers, more substantial protections for the environment, rules promoting patients’ access to life-saving medicines, and the best enforcement mechanisms ever seen in a U.S. trade deal," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA). “The advancements Democrats secured will only be effective if the United States carries out the deal’s provisions fully, as the agreement demands. The Trump Administration’s lackadaisical approach to implementing and enforcing the USMCA is an affront to American workers, threat to the health of our hemisphere’s environment, and disservice to the U.S. economy."
Specifically, Ways and Means Democrats raise the Trump Administration’s:
* Delayed establishment of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force and the Task Force’s failure to issue its first report, which is now two months overdue;
* Slow disbursement of funds designated to promote labor reforms and worker rights in Mexico;
* Failure to proactively monitor and enforce the USMCA’s new labor standards; and
* Lack of utilization of resources intended to enforce the USMCA’s environmental obligations.
“The goal of this unprecedented trade agreement was to strongly protect workers and the environment and put people ahead of profit, especially when it comes to the cost of prescription drugs," said Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). “The Trump Administration’s calculated attempts to skirt key pillars of the agreement are not just an attack on these good-faith negotiations, but also on the American people and our economy. It’s clear that we need stronger accountability around implementation of this important deal."
As outlined in the report card, Committee Democrats will continue closely monitoring:
* The promised benefits of the USMCA for U.S. auto workers and manufacturers; and
* Canada’s actions that could unfairly disadvantage U.S. dairy farmers and products.
Read the full report card HERE.
