| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Steven D. Smith Steven.Smith@mail.house.gov November 19, 2019 |
| VIDEO: Rep. Hill on KARK's Capitol View: "It's Time for USMCA" |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. —
On Sunday, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) joined KARK's Capitol View to discuss the latest progress on passing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which will benefit over 100,000 Arkansans working in farming, manufacturing, and export jobs. The Congressman also highlighted the history of trade relations with China and why it's important to ensure any new trade deal is measurable and enforceable. Click HERE or on the picture below to watch Congressman Hill's interview on KARK's Capitol View. Highlights of Congressman Hill's interview are copied below: On bringing USMCA to the House floor for a vote: “USMCA, which is President Trump's replacement for NAFTA, which is 25-years-old, has been successfully negotiated. Both the Mexicans and the Canadians have approved this deal and now it needs a vote in the House. [speaker] Nancy Pelosi could have voted on this anytime since last March. She's held that up, I think for political purposes. She says she's trying to get to yes, but 100,000 Arkansans want her to get to yes sooner because that's what we have in employment tied to our trade with Canada and Mexico.” On the impact of USMCA on Arkansas businesses: “USMCA preserves the agricultural trade between the two countries with America and opens the dairy market in Canada for the first time. It creates intellectual property protections. It creates digital trade. It preserves the oil and gas trade. But very importantly, the definition of North American content, which in the past was about 60% American, [usmca] moved that number up dramatically. President Trump got what he wanted, which is the definition of North American content in the auto industry is going to contain more American production. That was a big thing that he wanted in this revised deal. USMCA is a boon for agriculture, but also for manufactured goods. In Arkansas, our largest trading partners for both [agriculture] and [non-agriculture] are both Mexico and Canada.” On trade negotiations between U.S. and China: “We haven't had success [with China] in 25 or 30 years, but I appreciate the president leading the charge on this. I hope he's successful. All of us in Congress want him to be successful in opening up China markets, stopping intellectual property theft and [digital] piracy, and getting our [agriculture], manufacturing, and servicing products into China. President Trump's tariffs on China caused them to retaliate, which hurt our soybean farmers here in Arkansas. So, we want a good deal, but we want a measurable deal and an enforceable deal with China.”
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### To learn more about Congressman French Hill, please visit: Hill.House.Gov |
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