Thursday, March 12, 2026

Gallego Calls for USMCA Deal that Puts Workers First

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) sent a letter to President Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer laying out his priorities as the administration begins the mandatory six-year review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“I urge you to use this process as an opportunity to renegotiate aspects of the agreement to rebuild the U.S. manufacturing sector, strengthen border communities, and address the underlying causes of illegal migration to the United States,” Senator Gallego wrote.

He continues, “Thanks to industrial policy investments that I championed like the CHIPS and Science Act, Arizona is leading America’s manufacturing renaissance. The review of the USMCA is an opportunity to learn what has and has not worked with the revised NAFTA and to build on it. An updated agreement should create stable market conditions that promote investment in reshoring in the United States, halt the offshoring of good jobs, lift wages for both American and Mexican workers, and create more jobs in border communities.”

Specifically, Senator Gallego calls for renegotiation of the following aspects of the USMCA:

Update Rules of Origin Requirements: Strengthen rules of origin requirements and other safeguards to prevent Chinese companies from skirting U.S. trade laws by sending goods through the Southern border.
Improve Labor Standards and Enforcement: Improve and streamline the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) to ensure Mexican workers can easily and effectively file complaints against facilities that violate their rights and strengthen enforcement when violations occur.
Set a Minimum Wage: Strengthen and build on previous wage standard provisions by also including a minimum wage across signatory countries for all workers in the manufacturing sector.
Commit to Robust Funding for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB): Fund and fully staff the ILAB, which fights for a level playing field for workers in the U.S. and around the world and plays a key role in enforcing USMCA labor provisions.
Invest in Border Community Infrastructure: Obtain commitments that the Mexican government will make infrastructure improvements on their side of the border as the U.S. makes improvements on our side. Invest in infrastructure to support the flow of fresh produce from Mexico to the U.S. – a major driver of jobs in border communities.

Read the full text of the letter HERE.

Senator Gallego is a champion for trade policies that protect workers, consumers, and small businesses while growing our economy. He has consistently called out this administration’s reckless and costly tariff policies that are focused on settling personal feuds, favoring specific companies, and benefitting friends and family rather than holding trade cheating countries accountable. He has also demanded hearings and investigations, pushing to ensure that tariffs are not used as an excuse to price gouge, and has fought to ensure that tariff exemptions actually result in lower prices. He also backs the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act to push back against China’s anti-free market practices by providing the Department of Commerce with more tools to crack down on unfair trade practices that hurt American workers and businesses and recently led a bipartisan letter to the International Trade Commission urging enforcement regarding unfairly traded imports of steel reinforcing bar (“rebar”) undercutting Arizona workers.