January 07, 2020

Wyden, Grassley Hail Passage of Updated NAFTA

Modernized Trade Agreement Will Open Market Access, Grow Economy, Protect Workers

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today released the following statements regarding the broad, bipartisan passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act, which was reported out of committee on a 25-3 basis and will update the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“Thanks to hard work by my colleagues on the Finance Committee and in the House, this new NAFTA delivers long-overdue upgrades to labor standards, the environment and digital trade, while providing certainty to farmers and manufacturers who have been hammered in recent years. The overwhelming bipartisan committee vote today is a testament to all of the members who put in the elbow grease to make sure the new NAFTA puts American workers front and center,” Wyden said.

“Today is years in the making. President Trump ran on updating the former North American trade deal. Soon, the entire country will benefit as a result,” Grassley said. “I commend President Trump, Ambassador Lighthizer and my colleagues in Congress for their hard work in getting to this point. This modernized trilateral trade agreement will open new markets for American exporters, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, grow the national economy and protect U.S. workers. I expect the full Senate will act soon and that final approval of USMCA is just around the corner. That is good news for millions of farmers, manufacturers and workers in every corner of America.”