[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S5643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



              United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I want to address an issue for my 
colleagues, something a lot of Senators have been talking about more 
recently, and none too soon--the Mexico-Canada agreement with the 
United States, a very important trade agreement.
  President Trump and the leaders of Mexico and Canada signed the USMCA 
on November 30, 2018, which was 43 weeks ago. More than 3 months have 
passed since Mexico ratified the USMCA, and Canada's ratification is 
well underway. However, the U.S. Congress must do its part, and time is 
running short.
  We have a limited opportunity to ratify the USMCA before election 
politics get in the way of securing this very critical win for 
literally every broad industry sector in America. I therefore urge the 
administration and House Democrats not only to intensify discussions on 
the USMCA but also to expedite those discussions and to present USMCA 
to the Congress.
  By now, everyone should know very well that Mexico and Canada are by 
far America's most important trading partners. In 2017, America sold 
more than a half trillion dollars of exports to Mexico and Canada. 
Those were more exports than we sold to the next 11 largest export 
markets combined. For Iowa, my State, 130,000 jobs were supported by 
the $6.6 billion of exports to Mexico and Canada in the same year of 
2017.
  These numbers are not just academic statistics. During the August 
State work period, I completed my 39th year holding Q and A's in every 
one of Iowa's 99 counties, and I consistently heard from Iowans that 
passing the USMCA ought to be a very top priority for the Congress.
  I joined the former Governor of Iowa and former U.S. Secretary of 
Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, at a dairy processing plant in Des Moines. 
This meeting, with one Republican and one Democrat appreciating the 
great contributions of Iowa agriculture to our Nation and to exports, 
demonstrated what I heard at my town meetings--that passing the USMCA 
should be a bipartisan priority.
  In Cedar Falls, IA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Under 
Secretary, Bill Northey, and I held a roundtable discussion with 
various commodity groups about the farm economy and the certainty that 
passing USMCA would bring to the agricultural community, particularly 
to the family farmers.
  USMCA was also a focal point when I held meetings at manufacturing 
plants, such as Altec in Osceola, IA, and AIM Aerospace in Orange City, 
IA. I can state firsthand that people in the real world--people living 
outside of the Washington Beltway--want Congress to pass the USMCA as 
soon as possible.
  My county meetings help me better represent Iowans, and it is clear 
to me that Iowans support the USMCA. We can't squander this opportunity 
to update NAFTA, which has been critical to American farmers and 
businesses but is now a quarter century old. Issues negotiated in the 
USMCA were not issues 25 years ago, showing just how out of date NAFTA 
is, as well as the importance of the USMCA.
  USMCA will bring greater market access for agriculture and important 
new commitments in areas such as customs, digital trade, intellectual 
property, labor, the environment, currency, and nontariff trade 
barriers. These updates and upgrades will translate into higher wages, 
greater productivity, and consequently more jobs for Americans.
  In fact, the independent U.S. International Trade Commission found 
that USMCA will create nearly 176,000 new American jobs while adding 
more than $68 billion to America's GDP.
  Let's not forget, USMCA was a hard-fought negotiation. For Mexico, 
two Presidents worked across opposing administrations to get this job 
done. Canada initially held out of the agreement altogether, only to 
sign on at the last possible opportunity.
  It is easy for Members of Congress to talk about how we would have 
negotiated the agreement differently. There is some talk like that 
going on. That would be true whether you are a Republican or Democrat. 
However, as the U.S. International Trade Commission report made very 
clear, USMCA is a major advancement from the 25-year-old NAFTA 
agreement. This is certainly true for labor and the environment, which 
were mere side agreements to NAFTA 25 years ago. Now these issues 
addressed in USMCA are some of the strongest obligations ever to have 
been included in any U.S. trade agreement. Simply put, we can't let the 
perfect be the enemy of the good, and calling the USMCA ``good'' would 
be a serious understatement.
  The administration did its job and brought us a modernized trade 
agreement. Nevertheless, the administration has listened to the 
concerns of House Democrats and has proposed actions to address those 
concerns. For my part, I have kept an open mind throughout this 
process, and I welcome any workable, bipartisan solutions. However, 
given the political calendar that lies ahead, I need those solutions 
promptly. We simply don't have any more time to spare.
  Iowans and all Americans deserve some much needed certainty on access 
to our half-trillion-dollar export markets in Mexico and Canada, and it 
is the job of this Congress to deliver. The time for USMCA is right 
now.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.