Support for Veterans in Effective Apprenticeships Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, once again, I rise to voice support for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The time to pass the USMCA is now. This agreement will increase exports, expand consumer choice, raise wages, and boost innovation throughout North America and especially here in the United States.

It is clear that the USMCA is good for the country and good for our economy. The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that the USMCA will raise the GDP by nearly $63 billion and create more than 175,000 jobs in the United States.

No one knows agriculture better than American farmers and ranchers, and technology has made them more efficient than ever. They have maintained an ag trade surplus for the last 50 years by exporting the best products around the world. American agriculture needs access to foreign markets to reach its full potential.

The same is true for my State of North Dakota, which is a powerhouse in terms of ag product. We shipped $4.5 billion worth of ag products around the globe in 2017, which made us the country's ninth largest exporter of ag goods. Our farmers and ranchers depend on free and fair trade in order to sell the highest quality, lowest cost food supply to the world.

We lead the Nation in the production of a variety of crops, including that of hard red spring wheat. Every summer, about 7.5 million acres-- one-fifth of North Dakota's farmable acres--are carpeted with rows of wheat.

Currently, Canada automatically downgrades imports of U.S. wheat to the lowest designation--for animals only--regardless of the quality of the wheat. We grow the highest quality wheat in the world, and this unfair trade practice puts growers at a disadvantage when sending wheat to Canada.

Having access to Canadian markets is a big win for growers, for a quarter of our State's wheat is grown within 50 miles of a Canadian grain handling facility. By eliminating the automatic downgrade of U.S. wheat, growers have access to an additional market where they will receive a premium price for their high-quality products. The USMCA ensures that North Dakota wheat growers will be compensated fairly when selling their products in Canada.

These are the types of provisions that are provided for in the agreement--making it very clear that we need to get it passed.

In addition to wheat, U.S. dairy products will see increased access in the Canadian market, which is estimated to be worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars. The agreement also provides for increased access to the Canadian market for other ag products, like poultry exports--chicken, eggs, and turkey--as well as others.

These examples are just some of the many benefits for American agriculture in the USMCA. By maintaining all zero-tariff provisions on ag products, the USMCA will secure critical market access for U.S. farmers and ranchers. Canada and Mexico are critical markets for U.S. agriculture, and passing the USMCA will give our producers certainty that these markets will remain open for business.

Our farmers and ranchers are facing real challenges right now. Severe weather has destroyed crops or has made it impossible to harvest, and unjustified retaliatory tariffs have disrupted markets and driven prices lower. That is why Congress needs to approve the USMCA.

Now more than ever, farmers and ranchers depend on stability in our trading relationships with Canada and Mexico--our Nation's two largest trading partners. The failure to ratify this agreement would be detrimental to agriculture producers across the country, including in the Presiding Officer's home State.

I believe the USMCA has strong, bipartisan support in the Senate, but the implementing legislation must originate in the House. That is why I urge my colleagues in the House to do what is best for the American people: take up and pass the USMCA as soon as possible. That means agreeing to the provisions in the USMCA and putting it on the floor for a vote in the House to get this process started. We need the leadership in the House to agree to take the implementing legislation and put it to a vote on the floor of the House. I think it would pass with a large bipartisan majority. Then and only then can we take up that legislation here in the Senate, which, I believe, would pass with a large bipartisan majority. We are ready to go.

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