Thank you, Jay, for that very kind introduction. Thank you, also, to SCHOTT North America for hosting us.

As all of you here know, President Trump made a promise to reinvigorate manufacturing in our country. And I’m pleased to say today, that he has kept that promise. Thanks to his policies focused on rebuilding American industry, American jobs, and American prosperity, we are heading toward a more prosperous and hopeful future.

Since the election of President Trump, the United States has added 6.4 million new jobs, including 500,000 in the manufacturing sector. Unemployment remains at the lowest level in half a century. Wage growth at more than 3 percent is the highest rate since 1969. There are 1.3 million more open jobs than there are people unemployed.

Those excellent numbers didn’t happen by chance. The Trump administration has implemented tax, regulatory, trade and workforce policies aimed at making the United States the number-one place in the world for investment in new and expanded production capacity – by both American and International companies. All of these achievements came before the U.S. Mexico Canada Trade Agreement has passed Congress!

USMCA fixes a badly flawed deal, and we call on Congress to approve it as quickly as possible. It will create an estimated 175,000 more jobs and it is also clearly better than NAFTA in terms of labor and environmental provisions. So, there are no valid excuses for stalling it any more. 

The votes needed to pass it are there in both Houses. It is time for Speaker Pelosi to do something that helps the American public and the American worker. We need USMCA, not more hearings on make believe charges against the President.

Thank you, again, for having me. And I thank the Vice President for his leadership on USMCA and his relentless support of better deals on behalf of the American people. Thank you.