Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Senate President Pro Tempore
“Importance of USMCA to Counter China”
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

VIDEO

 

I have come to the floor many times recently to explain how important the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is to the economies of the three countries—particularly the United States and particularly agriculture in the United States —and that we need to soon make a decision to continue the USMCA.

It’s up for review, and that review ought to be conducted very quickly because of the economic importance that I’ve tried to demonstrate on the floor of the United States Senate: how it has expanded trade between our countries and business between our countries, and how it’s been so beneficial to the economic growth of all three countries, but particularly the United States.

So, I’ve said the renewal is really a no-brainer.

So, I continue my review today of this USMCA, but there is one part of that agreement that does not show up in the text of the agreement or is easily calculated in dollars, as I’ve tried to explain the value of the USMCA in dollar terms.

In other words, it’s hard to give any statistics to this aspect of the USMCA and its value.

It is the invaluable effect of countering China on the global stage because of what has developed as a result of the USMCA.

That is through the alignment on agricultural, environmental, intellectual property rules and regulations, and the alignment of rules of origin, strengthening near-shore supply chains and countless other provisions. The USMCA then protects our domestic workers, our companies and our products from being replaced by Chinese competition.

The alignment of the North American economy, because of the USMCA, to U.S. standards – that all sends a very strong signal to the rest of the world.

That signal is this: if you align with the United States, you and your economy will prosper,

and as more and more countries are finding out, aligning in the opposite direction with China means intellectual property theft, continuously moving [the] goal post[s] and regulatory uncertainty.

Because of what the USMCA [does] and the North American economy being aligned because of the USMCA, I think it shows the importance of counteracting China.

So, I urge the Trump administration to quickly advance trilateral conversations on renewing the USMCA, and I say this especially with Canada, because I see we’re dragging our feet in regard to sitting down with Canada.

We should not be pushing Canada to the back burner in the USMCA negotiations. [The] U.S. and Canada, economically, are so integrated that it’s important to keep this moving.

The Canadians showed their willingness to expand trade with China to our detriment. They did this in January, including in electric vehicles.

This administration must move quickly to ensure Canada remains focused on strengthening trade between our two countries, and we do that by sitting down with Canada very quickly.

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