Working People Across North America Need a Workers-First Trade Policy
WASHINGTON, DC – The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), representing upwards of 90,000 workers in Canada and the United States, issued the following statement on the U.S-Mexico-Canada (USMCA or CUSMA) trade agreement’s six-year review period, commencing on July 1, 2026:
“When USMCA was enacted in 2020, IFPTE opposed it because it was a missed opportunity to fully break from a NAFTA model that failed to deliver for workers, their communities, and the public interest. IFPTE members and workers in North America rightly saw USMCA as a clear signal that the tide had turned against a global trade framework that prioritizes multinational corporate interests over citizens, workers, and communities. USMCA is a step forward and includes innovative enforcement tools, such as the Rapid Response Mechanism, but it has not stemmed the tide of outsourcing, the loss of union jobs, or sufficiently and consistently lifted labor standards in North America.
Now that USMCA is at the six-year joint review milestone, IFPTE urges all partner nations to rethink our approach to trade, build on and improve the USMCA labor and environmental enforcement mechanisms, and forge a model that supports our respective nations’ legitimate national interests and prioritizes the interests of working people across North America – not corporations nor oligarchs. That means ending the race to the bottom, strengthening democratic collective bargaining rights, lifting up workplace protections, and raising living standards for all workers across North America.”
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