Press Releases

Congresswoman Moore Supports Committee Passage of United States Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Today, the Ways and Means Committee voted to pass the USMCA. In response, Congresswoman Moore issue the following statement:

“I am proud to vote in support of the improved United States Mexico-Canada Agreement today. Throughout the negotiating process, I remained concerned that, unless we address the lack of basic labor rights in Mexico, American workers would continue to be at a competitive disadvantage. After the House Democrats secured major revisions to the agreement, I am hopeful that the rapid response labor enforcement mechanism created in this updated agreement can lead to greater equity in international trade. But to make it successful we need to work together. We need to work together to find common grounds with Mexico as they implement their labor reforms and build new labor courts. The labor attachés should be partners with Mexico. Together we can foster a renewed integration of our nations and nurture our mutually beneficial relationships. By ensuring workers throughout our region are protected by the strongest labor rights we can finally level the playing field.

Unfortunately, this agreement fell short in addressing the climate crisis. Democrats have taken up climate change as a key issue. Not only does the USMCA not mention “climate change” once, but it also provides no binding restrictions on production of greenhouse gases in partner countries. Due to these lax restrictions, companies are able to “outsource” their production of greenhouse gases to other countries simply by purchasing carbon-intensive products from outside of the U.S. We should not be giving corporations a free loophole to pollute our neighboring countries, especially when that pollution will eventually come back in the long term to harm our communities.

Notwithstanding the fact that additional improvements could be made to further modernize NAFTA, I believe the USMCA provides laudable modern fixes to a 25 year old agreement that reflect American priorities and values. Mexico and Canada are Wisconsin’s top trading partners. Our manufacturing industry, unions, dairy farmers, and Wisconsin workers, industries and businesses need a fair trade agreement to support our regional economy.”