Kaptur Statement After President Trump Signs Revised NAFTA
Washington, D.C. — Today, Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), released the following statement after President Donald Trump signed the implementing legislation for the revised United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), the spiritual successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Rep. Kaptur voted against both NAFTA and USMCA.
"President Trump's USMCA will be the law of the land for decades, and yet it fails to include the necessary changes to stem the outsourcing of high-paying jobs from Northern Ohio communities, nor does it include a single provision to combat climate change or protect our fragile environmental resources like the Great Lakes," said Rep. Kaptur. "In the years since NAFTA's implementation, Ohio saw more high-paying manufacturing jobs sent to Mexico than any other state. I have personally met with workers from Northern Ohio who lost their livelihoods because their jobs were sent to Mexico – people who were then asked to travel to Mexico to train the low-wage workers replacing them."
"I am concerned that USMCA is not a significant departure from NAFTA, and that not only will it fail to stem the loss of jobs, but it will do nothing to reshore the jobs already lost to NAFTA. Finally, the climate crisis is here. The American people can't afford another NAFTA-style, do-nothing trade deal, and I am afraid USMCA was a lost opportunity to take action on climate change and reshore manufacturing jobs lost to low-wage countries. Moving forward, I will leverage my seniority on the House Appropriations Committee to further my lifelong commitment to improving the lives of working people and save our planet."
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