Political Quotes

“The original NAFTA was a failure for working families, and the NAFTA 2.0 deal that President Trump signed in 2018 was not much better. House Democrats recognized that, and we rejected it, and we worked until we got an enforceable deal. As a result, the final revised USMCA is much better than NAFTA 1.0, and it is even better than NAFTA 2.0. And, I would say, you can't even call it ``NAFTA Lite'' anymore. Despite our work, even with the improvements that we have made, I know that this won't bring back all the jobs that we have lost here in the United States; but, over time, I hope the new labor standards and the enhanced enforcement mechanisms we negotiated will help raise wages in Mexico, reducing U.S. corporations' incentive to outsource jobs. No trade agreement or legislation is perfect, and I do not endorse every single provision of USMCA, but I know that it is always easier to talk about a problem than to fix a problem. When we proceed on this issue, future trade agreements must recognize that trade and globalization have pushed wages down and weakened the negotiation power of workers. This is where our focus must be. One provision I am proud of is in labor, and that is, specifically, a new rapid-response mechanism to enforce labor standards. This has never been written into an American trade agreement. By ensuring Mexican workers' rights are protected, we prevent a race to the bottom.…”