At a press conference today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) stood with House leaders to announce a strong and enforceable USMCA trade deal that will improve the American economy, safeguard workers’ rights, protect the environment, and improve access to affordable prescription drugs.

“I’m on a mission to restore Americans’ faith in our government, and the USMCA deal we announced today is exactly how our process should work,” said Phillips. “Republicans and Democrats in Congress, the White House, businesses, and labor organizations came together to forge a strong and solvent deal that is good for everyone. Whether it’s increasing patients’ access to affordable prescriptions, protecting workers, or keeping international markets open for Minnesota businesses  – this deal is proof that we all win when everyone comes to the table in good faith.”

Rep. Phillips was heavily involved in the passage of the trade deal, both through the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and as an individual lawmaker. He pushed hard for fixes related to drug prices and labor enforcement, and convened a September meeting with Cargill CEO Dave MacLennan and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Washington to discuss the negotiations.

Businesses in Phillips’s Third District export $1 billion in goods and services to trade partners in Canada and Mexico every year and that trade supports more than 40,000 jobs.

The new agreement comes after House leaders and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) spent months working to improve the Trump Administration’s original deal. Together, they secured critical updates, including:

• Open Markets – ensures that markets in Mexico and Canada remain open to American businesses and job creators.
• Stronger enforcement – closes enforcement loopholes and establishes rules to ensure that trading partners live up to their commitments
• Worker protections – enacts mechanisms to ensure trading partners honor their commitments to protect workers from violence and labor violations
• Lower drug costs – empowers Congress to make cheaper generic drugs more accessible to American patients .

Today’s agreement has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO.

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