Senators Say U.S. Should Seek USMCA Action

The Biden administration should pursue enforcement action against Canada and Mexico where necessary, Senate Finance leaders Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said in a letter, citing Mexico’s nationalist energy policy and compliance shortcomings by Canada over tariff-rate quotas on dairy products, among other issues. The senators also pushed the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for resolution on Mexico’s imposition of export tariffs on white corn, environmental, and digital-trade issues. The pact’s “full potential remains unrealized,” they said. The senators said USTR “must ensure that the United States gets what it bargained for” and asked trade chief Katherine Tai to take “decisive action to ensure full compliance” with every chapter of the pact. The letter comes a day after Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jayme White met with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts in San Diego and emphasized the importance of making meaningful progress in the ongoing talks over Mexico’s energy policy under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that went into effect in 2020, replacing the two-decade-old NAFTA.

The U.S. has repeatedly urged Mexico and Canada to follow through on their commitments under the USMCA, including through the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism to enforce workers’ rights in Mexico and by requesting dispute consultations with Canada over its dairy policies, a USTR spokesperson said in a statement. The agency continues to seek resolution on those issues, including through White’s meeting this week, and will continue to implement the USMCA, the spokesperson said.

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