Last week, Representative Cindy Axne commended the Senate for advancing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, bringing the trade deal one step closer to full ratification. The agreement is now awaiting final signature by President Trump and ratification by the Canadian government.
"I'm glad that the Senate has worked this week to concur with the House and approve USMCA with overwhelming bipartisan support," Axne said."Trade with our two closest neighbors is critical to the economy of Iowa, and the market certainty brought by this renewed partnership will help stabilize markets for our Iowa farmers and producers."
In December, Axne voted with 384 of her Democratic and Republican colleagues in the House to send the USMCA to the Senate. Prior to House passage, Axne led a letter with six of her freshman colleagues in the House calling on the Senate to finalize the deal without delay.
Axne has been a leader in calling for action on USMCA. She repeatedly urged her colleagues on the House floor to work to finalize the agreement, and sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer in December to demand action on the USMCA before the end of the year.
The USMCA builds on the North American Free Trade Agreement which went into effect in 1994. It includes provisions to enforce labor protections across all signatories to protect American jobs from outsourcing, and excludes language in an earlier draft that could have raised prescription drug costs by protecting pharmaceutical companies.
“The enhanced labor protections in the USMCA will benefit Iowa workers and keep our middle class strong. Without them, we’d see Iowa workers undermined and our American-made products undercut,” Axne said. I am also glad that the biologics title was removed so Iowa families will not face higher costs for certain pharmaceuticals, and to see key improvements in environmental protections.”
The agreement is a product of months of bipartisan collaboration between the House Working Group, the United States Trade Representative and trade representatives from the Mexican and Canadian governments. The three countries signed USMCA in November of 2018 and on May 30, 2019 the administration submitted the text of the agreement to Congress.