Statement from Congressman García on his vote against USMCA

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Jesús "Chuy" García (IL-04) issued the following statement today after voting against the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA, aka NAFTA 2.0):

"After careful deliberation and many conversations with labor leaders, environmental experts, and advisors in my community and Mexico, I have decided to vote against the USMCA. My parents' generation worked in good manufacturing jobs in Chicago and I saw the devastation caused by job losses resulting from the 1992 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Working conditions and wages for Mexican workers have stagnated, thus contributing to increased pressures to migrate. I hoped the USMCA would significantly improve on the inadequate labor and environmental protections in NAFTA. While I appreciate the work of USMCA negotiators, the final version of the agreement fails to reverse the harm to North American workers caused by NAFTA.

"I have been working hard to secure improvements since the USMCA draft was released last year. In July, I authored a letter with 27 of my colleagues urging specific improvements. In September, I joined 110 of my colleagues to urge binding climate standards be included in this agreement. Although House Democrats secured some worthwhile changes-- especially eliminating language that would have locked in high drug prices by securing new monopoly rights for pharmaceuticals--- other important demands I made were left out:

• In the face of a global climate crisis, the USMCA fails to include binding climate standards or even mention the words "climate change."
• Exemptions for U.S. oil and gas firms were maintained through terms that preserved Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) rights for U.S. firms with contracts in Mexico.
• The crucial food safety protections known as Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements were left out.

"Finally, I am concerned about provisions in the USMCA that protect big tech companies while putting consumers' privacy at risk. The agreement shields tech companies from liability for content their users post, and also includes language that undermines government restrictions on how and where consumer data may be moved or stored.

"Despite my colleagues' hard work to ensure positive changes, ultimately I could not support USMCA because the agreement lacks climate standards and fails to secure labor protections for working people in my district, throughout the U.S. and Mexico."