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Rep. Susie Lee on Signing of Bipartisan USMCA Trade Deal

January 29, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Today, the President signed into law the bipartisan United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal, after the bill was passed by both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan support. U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (Nev.-03) released the following statement after the signing of the deal:

"A strong USMCA trade deal is important for workers, businesses, and families in southern Nevada, and I'm glad that months of negotiations have paid off. I personally met and worked with the White House and this administration to find common ground and help negotiate a trade deal that is good for both American workers and American businesses.

"We were determined to ensure strong labor and environmental enforcement, as a trade deal is only as strong as our ability to enforce it. This deal, unlike NAFTA, accomplishes that. We also removed a key provision that included giveaways to Big Pharma because it would have locked in high prescription drug prices. Striking this provision demonstrates my commitment to lower prescription drug prices.

"Above all else, this deal shows the American people that Congress and the White House can come together across party lines to get things done."

BACKGROUND: Rep. Lee worked personally with the Trump administration, meeting with administration officials including U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, to ensure the final USMCA trade deal included stronger labor and environmental protections, and provisions to lower prescriptions drug costs by holding pharmaceutical companies accountable. In addition, Rep. Lee helped negotiate the removal of a harmful provision in the original USMCA trade deal that locks in at least 10 years of market exclusivity for biologic drugs, which are some of the most expensive drugs on the market. The removal of this provision will help in the fight to lower prescription drug costs for all Americans.

The final USMCA trade deal includes the strongest mechanisms of any U.S. trade agreement in history, including enforcement mechanisms to prevent nations from "panel blocking," creating strong rules of evidence to help American workers and businesses in trade disputes.