House Democrats Call for Adding Climate Change Provisions to USMCA

House Democrats, including Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., are asking that Mexico and Canada agree to their commitments under the Paris Climate Accords as a condition of the USMCA. As a senator, Vice President Kamala Harris voted against USMCA because it did not address climate; the fast track legislation that directed the executive branch's negotiating priorities prohibited including climate in trade agreements.

Their letter, sent Jan. 19 to now President Joe Biden and led by Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., said a process in the USMCA text allows the countries to add multilateral environmental agreements to the environmental chapter. “That list should be amended to include the Paris Agreement. Such an action would help restore the United States’ role as a leader in addressing the climate crisis and demonstrate how trade agreements can be utilized to advance climate goals,” it said. The letter was signed by 122 House Democrats. Pascrell was the only member of Ways and Means to vote against the NAFTA rewrite, saying he doubted it would raise wages in the U.S.