[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S68]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



              United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement

  Mr. President, while the House continues to be bogged down and 
stalled out over impeachment, the Senate is moving forward with the 
business that I think is important to the daily lives of the American 
people.
  Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee passed the United States-
Mexico-Canada Agreement out of our committee. I serve as a member of 
that committee. I was pleased to vote to move this agreement one step 
closer to final approval by the full Senate.
  The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will benefit almost every 
sector of our economy, from manufacturing, to digital services, to the 
automotive industry. It will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, 
boost our economic output, and increase wages for workers.
  The agreement breaks new ground by including a chapter specifically 
focused on small and medium-sized businesses. This is the first time a 
U.S. trade agreement has ever included a dedicated chapter on this 
topic. Roughly 120,000 small and medium-sized businesses around our 
country export goods and services to Mexico and Canada, including a 
number of businesses in my home State of South Dakota. USMCA will make 
it easier for these businesses to successfully export their product.
  South Dakota businesses and consumers will also benefit from the fact 
that the agreement maintains the current U.S. de minimis threshold--
something I fought hard to protect.
  I am also particularly excited about the benefits the USMCA will 
bring to farmers and ranchers. Farmers and ranchers have had a tough 
time over the past few years. Low commodity and livestock prices, 
natural disasters, and protracted trade disputes have left farmers and 
ranchers in my home State of South Dakota and around the country 
struggling.
  I spend a lot of time at home talking to farmers and ranchers. Again 
and again, they have emphasized to me that the most important thing 
Washington can do to boost our Nation's farm economy is to conclude 
favorable trade deals. That is why I have spent a lot of time this past 
year pushing for adoption of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement 
and why I am so pleased that after a long year waiting for the House 
under Speaker Pelosi to take it up and act on it, we are finally going 
to have the opportunity to approve that trade deal in the Senate.
  Canada and Mexico are the No. 1 and No. 2 markets for American 
agricultural products. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will 
preserve and expand farmers' access to these two critical export 
markets, and it will give farmers certainty about what these markets 
will look like long term.
  I am particularly excited about the improvements the agreement makes 
for dairy farmers. If you drive the I-29 corridor north of Brookings, 
SD, you will see firsthand the major dairy expansion South Dakota has 
experienced over the past several decades--I should say, over the past 
several years.
  The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will preserve U.S. dairy farmers' 
role as a key dairy supplier to Mexico, and it will substantially 
expand market access in Canada. In fact, the U.S. International Trade 
Commission estimates that the agreement will boost U.S. dairy exports 
by more than $277 million. The agreement will also expand market access 
for U.S. poultry and egg producers. It will make it easier for U.S. 
producers to export wheat to Canada.
  There is so much more in this agreement.
  Yesterday's Finance Committee vote was a long time coming for South 
Dakota farmers and ranchers. Months of delay by House Democrats left 
agriculture producers wondering if they would ever see the benefits of 
this agreement. But we have at last been able to move forward, and I 
look forward to full Senate passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada 
trade agreement in the very near future.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.