75°
73º | 84°
72° | 82°
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) recently met with Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, the Mexican Ambassador to the United States, in order to address the one-year anniversary of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) and other issues concerning the two countries' relationship, according to a report by Yahoo! Finance.
The USMCA first took effect on July 1, 2020, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
"Great meeting today with the Mexican Ambassador to the US @emoctezumabmm," Brady said on Twitter. "We discussed the one-year anniversary of the #USMCA, historic labor reforms Mexico is tackling, the importance of safe border crossings, energy, ag and many other important issues that impact Texas and Mexico."
The USMCA, according to Brady, "strengthens" the partnership between the three nations included in the agreement.
"We modernize key parts of the agreement that, frankly, didn't exist when the original NAFTA was created in the digital services area, in the intellectual property area, in services overall," Brady stated in an interview with Yahoo! Finance.
Brady also stated that he wants President Joe Biden to take the lead on trade in order to "level the playing field."
"It is important for America to lead on trade," Brady said. "Frankly, as our economy recovers, we need more workers. Clearly, we need more customers."
Additionally, Brady argued that China's compliance with the Phase One agreement (which was signed on Jan. 15, 2020, and took effect on Feb. 14, 2020) is also insufficient.
Instead, Brady suggested that the U.S. should negotiate a phase two agreement with China in order to "outmaneuver any competitors negotiating agreements to their advantage."
He also expressed concern regarding Biden's $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework package, stating that he hoped lawmakers could agree on the package without it being linked to the "promise of higher taxes, crippling taxes and more entitlement spending."