Submitted
Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks (R-Ind.-05) released the following statement after the House passage of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA):
Brooks
“I am proud to vote for USMCA because it is a victory for Hoosier workers, farmers, small businesses and manufacturers. As I travel my district and meet with Hoosiers, the most regular request I hear is to finally pass USMCA.
“Indiana is the eighth largest agricultural exporter in the nation. Hoosier farmers have overwhelmingly shared with me how crucial international trade is for their businesses. USMCA guarantees economic certainty and opens new markets so Hoosier farmers can expand agricultural exports. American farmers will be better positioned to feed American families and the world with this 21st century trade deal.
“Additionally, Indiana has over 500,000 small businesses that employ 45 percent of Hoosiers, which foster local economies and support our communities. USMCA is the first trade agreement supporting these small businesses and allows each business to better compete in the global market. It eliminates a ‘local presence’ requirement for cross-border service providers, which means small businesses will no longer have to open a foreign office to do business in these countries.
“Indiana is an automotive manufacturing state and 76,000 jobs are expected to be added to the United States automotive sector because of USMCA. This bipartisan trade agreement will help Hoosier manufacturers streamline custom procedures, reduce inefficiencies and allow American products to hit the market faster.
“Today’s vote is a major victory for Hoosier business.”
Background
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a 21st century agreement that modernizes the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). USMCA will support mutually beneficial trade leading to freer markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth in North America.
The agreement includes a first-of-its-kind chapter on digital trade that – among other things – ensures data can be transferred across borders and cracks down on data localization measures used to restrict where data can be stored and processed.
Under USMCA’s rules, vehicles must be built with at least 75 percent of parts made in North America in order to qualify for zero tariffs, up from 62.5 percent under NAFTA. Also, 40 to 45 percent of an auto will have to be made by workers earning at least $16 an hour. A recent USTR analysis estimates that these rules will incentivize billions in new U.S. automotive investment and in new purchases of U.S.-made auto parts, and support tens of thousands of additional jobs in the U.S. automotive sector.
USMCA provides the U.S. with greater access to Canada’s dairy, poultry and egg markets. Combined with other agricultural provisions in the agreement, the independent International Trade Commission estimates that, as a result of USMCA, U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and the rest of the world could increase by $2.2 billion.
The USMCA makes a number of significant upgrades to NAFTA’s environmental and labor provisions, incorporates them into the core of the agreement, and makes them fully enforceable, which will help level the playing field for U.S. workers and businesses.
The agreement includes rules that directly address the pernicious and growing challenge of unfair subsidies and non-market practices that disadvantage U.S. workers and businesses. These include new and enforceable provisions covering state-owned enterprises, currency manipulation, anticorruption and combatting duty evasion.
USMCA dramatically enhances intellectual property protections. It contains modern, strong and effective IP protections critical to driving innovation, creating economic growth and supporting American jobs.