Usmca

Floor Speech

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Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my Democratic colleagues across the aisle to end their partisan impeachment inquiry and instead focus on an issue that will actually improve the lives of our constituents and supercharge the already roaring American economy; that is, bringing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the USMCA, to this floor for a vote.

Mr. Speaker, ratifying this landmark trade deal would generate a whole host of benefits, including growing the economy by tens of billions of dollars and supporting hundreds of thousands of American jobs and giving farmers more access to sell their products beyond our borders.

According to a recent report from the International Trade Commission, the USMCA would raise the United States' GDP by more than $68 billion and create nearly 200,000 new jobs. The study also found that the USMCA would have a positive impact on trade by increasing U.S. exports and imports to Canada and Mexico by billions of dollars.

The benefits don't stop there. The agreement would benefit farmers across the country and in my district in North Carolina. Under the USMCA, U.S. dairy farmers would be able to more than triple their access to the Canadian dairy market. This would be a huge win for Iredell County, the top dairy producing county in North Carolina, as our dairy producers will gain wider access to a bigger marketplace.

Along with dairy, the USMCA would boost North Carolina's poultry producers--a $37 billion industry that supports nearly 150,000 jobs in my State. Early estimates show that poultry exports to Canada will grow astronomically because the agreement increases tariff rate quotas for U.S. poultry and egg exports to Canada. The agreement also eliminates barriers facing U.S. dairy and poultry exports to Canada which will further unleash economic growth.

Mr. Speaker, there is a reason the USMCA enjoys broad support from Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. stakeholders, as well as a majority of this House on both sides of the aisle: Because the upside for our country is undisputed.

Ratifying this agreement would be a historic victory for our economy, for our workers, and for our farmers.

The President and his team should be commended for a job well done, and now it is time for this House to quit stalling and to act. The window to pass the USMCA is closing, and I stand ready to vote for this deal and to get it across the finish line.

I ask my Democratic colleagues to suspend their blind hatred of this President and bring the USMCA to the floor for a simple up-or-down vote. We need to stop thinking about this in terms of giving President Trump a political victory and start thinking about giving the American people an economic victory. That is why we all were sent here in the first place.

Mr. Speaker, let's pass the USMCA now.

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