President Donald Trump said that his “cutting-edge” United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) will lead to a “glorious future” for America during his signing ceremony of the trade deal.
Speaking at the signing of the USMCA on Wednesday, Trump said it was the “fairest” trade agreement “ever achieved.”
“Today, we are finally ending the NAFTA nightmare and signing into law the brand new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The USMCA is the largest, fairest, most balanced, and modern trade agreement ever achieved.”
Trump said he was replacing “a disastrous trade deal that rewarded outsourcing” with one that will “keep jobs, wealth and growth right here in America.”
Watch the signing ceremony below:
Additionally, Trump celebrated the clause in the deal that opens up Canadian markets to American dairy producers, “This agreement is a tremendous breakthrough for American Agriculture. Canada will finally provide greater access for American dairy.”
The Senate passed the USMCA the Senate earlier this month in an overwhelming 89-10 vote and the House approved it in December of 2019 in a 385-41 vote.
The deal still has to be ratified by Canada — the only country of the three that has not approved it yet. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently said he hopes to ratify the agreement “as quickly as possible.”
“We are going to make sure we move forward in the right way, and that means ratifying this new NAFTA as quickly as possible.”
The USMCA is expected to add about $68 billion to the GDP and create 176,000 new jobs. Democratic lawmakers succeeded in adding a new clause increasing enforcement of labor rights in the trade agreement before it passed the House.
“This is a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art agreement that protects, defends, and serves the great people of our country,” Trump said, adding, “Together we are building a glorious future that is raised, grown, built and made right here in the glorious USA.”
While the USMCA enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress, some 2020 Democratic presidential contenders were not happy that it did not include a clause designed to fight climate change.
Billionaire Tom Steyer blasted former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) during the last Democratic presidential debate for supporting the USMCA even though it lacked stronger language regarding climate change, as IJR has previously reported.
Additionally, after the signing of the USMCA, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pledged to “immediately begin renegotiating this disastrous deal to combat climate change, stop the outsourcing of American jobs and end the destructive race to the bottom” if elected president, he wrote in a statement. He added, “The NAFTA 2.0 that Trump signed today is an absolute disaster.”
