Bustos Says USMCA Good For American Workers

Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Moline) said the revised USMCA trade agreement with Mexico and Canada protects the interests of farmers, organized labor, and environmental organizations.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday that House Democrats had reached a deal to move the treaty forward after years of negotiations. 

She said one important key change hashed out was the compliance enforcement mechanisms in the treaty.

"If we want to go back to the NAFTA days, one of the problems with America losing jobs, especially to places like Mexico, was you could have manufacturing operations that could pick up and leave," she said. 

Bustos used the example of Galesburg's Maytag factory, which left for Mexico in 2004 for cheaper labor. She says Knox County's economy still hasn't fully rebounded.

And she said it opens up two of America's largest agricultural markets to farmers.

Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Peoria) sathe deal is a win for farmers, manufacturers...and small businesses. The agreement replaces the 1994 NAFTA treaty.

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