United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement Implementation Act

Jan. 16, 2020 | H.R. 5430

The revised United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) includes a first-of-its-kind facility-specific enforcement mechanism with rapid timelines and meaningful penalties. The rapid response mechanism will allow complaints to be brought against facilities for violating the rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining, including on-site verifications that must be resolved in a timely manner where violations are found. The USMCA also improved enforcement by eliminating the provision that would allow any party to block the formation of a dispute resolution panel when state-to-state conflicts arise; it severely limited Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS); it removes unreasonable barriers to trade complaints by making clear there is a presumption that labor violations are trade-related; it removes troubling language on violence against workers; and it bans trade in goods made with forced labor. It also eliminated the giveaway to Big Pharma in the administration’s initial proposal. This bill passed the Senate on Jan. 16, 2020, and was signed into law on Jan. 29, 2020.

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