Political Quotes

“We have said all along that we want to get to yes on the USMCA. Frankly, we think it is an improvement over NAFTA, which needs improving. As the gentleman may know, the Speaker and I were here when we voted on NAFTA. We both voted for it. There were some promises made and side agreements that the rights of workers and the environment would be protected. Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be true, so that, in adopting a change to NAFTA, we want to make sure that the promises made in the agreement are promises that can be enforced. As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has often said, the commitments in a trade pact aren't worth the paper they are written on if they can't be enforced. Mr. Speaker, that has been the posture of the Speaker, myself, and of so many others, that enforcement is critical. Unfortunately, the NAFTA enforcement mechanisms have been a failure. In 25 years, as I am sure the whip knows, the U.S. has taken only one successful enforcement action under the NAFTA dispute resolution procedure, and none in the past 20 years. Not a single enforcement has prevailed. We have been completely unable to enforce its labor provisions, not one successful enforcement action. We want to get to yes. And, yes, I want to say that Ambassador Lighthizer is somebody who we respect and think is operating in good faith. We think he is a positive interlocutor. He is somebody who we can work with and have been working with.…”