For decades, Washington accepted the idea that American manufacturing jobs were simply the price of globalization. Communities watched factories close, supply chains move overseas, and good-paying jobs disappear, while policymakers insisted that free trade alone would eventually make everyone better off.
President Donald Trump rejected that consensus, and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement has shown why he was right.
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Unlike the North American Free Trade Agreement, which too often rewarded companies for moving production abroad, USMCA was designed to reward businesses that invest in North America, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and ensure American workers compete on a level playing field.
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As the agreement comes up for review, Trump is right to insist that Canada and Mexico continue meeting those commitments and that the agreement evolves to serve U.S. workers even better.
The results are already evident. Sixteen of the 21 key manufacturing sectors have increased exports since the USMCA replaced NAFTA. The agreement’s requirement that 75% of a vehicle’s value originate in North America has helped shift supply chains away from China and back to the U.S. American vehicle parts production now exceeds $349 billion annually, $37 billion more than in 2019, and the supplier industry has added more than 61,000 jobs while employing more than 930,000 workers across all 50 states.
Those gains did not happen by accident. They reflect a simple principle: Trade policy should reward companies that invest in U.S. workers instead of those that move jobs overseas. It should strengthen domestic industries, encourage long-term investment, and ensure that businesses committed to America are not placed at a competitive disadvantage.
Constellation Brands is a compelling example of that principle in action. When brewing giant AB InBev sought to acquire Grupo Modelo in 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice required it to divest Grupo Modelo’s U.S. business to Constellation Brands rather than further consolidate the American beer market under a foreign brewing giant. The result was the creation of a stronger American competitor. Research by Federal Trade Commission staff and academic researchers found that Constellation’s entry reduced the profits of the largest foreign brewers by as much as 14%, disrupting an industry long dominated by offshore companies.
More importantly, Constellation invests heavily in the U.S. The company purchases roughly $228 million each year in American-grown barley, corn starch, and hops from farmers in North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. It spends nearly $1 billion annually on U.S. logistics and warehousing and another $750 million on advertising and marketing through American media companies, supporting thousands of workers well beyond the brewery itself.
Although the beer is brewed in Mexico under the Justice Department settlement, the overwhelming share of its economic value stays in the U.S. — in American jobs, wages, distribution, marketing, logistics, and purchases from American farmers. That demonstrates an important reality: Successful trade policy is not simply about where a product is assembled. It is about where investment occurs, where workers are employed, and where economic value is created.
Throughout his public career, Trump has challenged outdated assumptions about trade and consistently pushed for policies that put the people workers first. Just as importantly, the Trump-Vance administration has demonstrated that trade agreements only succeed when they are enforced.
In March, the U.S. won its second USMCA case under the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism, successfully challenging labor abuses at Mexico’s Camino Rojo critical minerals mine. Enforcing labor standards protects workers on both sides of the border while ensuring that American companies are not forced to compete against businesses that gain an unfair advantage by violating basic labor rights.
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For too long, American trade policy rewarded companies for moving production overseas and asked workers and communities to bear the cost. USMCA began reversing that trend by strengthening manufacturing, encouraging investment in America, enforcing fair competition, and restoring confidence that trade policy can once again serve the national interest.
The upcoming review is an opportunity not simply to preserve those gains, but to build on them by rewarding companies that invest in American workers, holding our trading partners accountable, and ensuring North American trade continues to strengthen our Nation’s manufacturing base, workforce, and long-term economic prosperity.
The Hon. Lori Chavez-DeRemer served as the 30th United States Secretary of Labor and represented Oregon’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
