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New Three-Nation Trade Agreement Wins Pennsylvania Officials' Praise

Agreement would replace NAFTA if approved

Less than 24 hours after the historic impeachment vote sharply split Pennsylvania’s U.S. congressional delegation, the very same lawmakers were virtually united in praise for the passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The new treaty, if it passes in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, will take the place of the 1990s-era North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and will govern trade relations between the three countries going forward.

The U.S. Senate had passed the USMCA last year, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held off bringing it up for a vote in her chamber until Thursday. The final vote saw widespread support from both Republicans and Democrats, unlike the impeachment vote Wednesday that saw Pennsylvania’s nine Republicans and nine Democratic representatives split down the middle.

Lawmakers and industry groups in Pennsylvania and all over the country had called on Pelosi to bring the USMCA up for a vote for months, and after the treaty was passed, praise for the new deal was widespread.

“After months of unnecessary delays by Speaker Pelosi, I was proud to vote for #USMCA to bring our trade policy into the 21st century,” U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican, said on Twitter on the afternoon of Dec. 19. “Thanks @realDonaldTrump for negotiating a deal that will create 176,000 American jobs and generate more than $68 billion in new economic activity.”

Rep. Mike Doyle, a Democrat, was less enthusiastic than his Republican colleagues but still made clear that he supports the USMCA.

“I voted in favor of the USMCA because I believe it is an improvement over NAFTA,” he said on Twitter. “I was pleased that, as a result of the efforts of Democrats and Labor, the USMCA has been significantly improved from President Trump’s original agreement. … The USMCA is still far from perfect, however. So while this agreement was an important first step, there remains much more to be done to fix our nation’s trade laws. I look forward to continue fighting for trade policies that benefit American workers.”

Fellow Democrat Matt Cartwright, on the other hand, specifically saw passage of the treaty in the House as a positive for his Northeast Pennsylvania district.

“This is an important win for NEPA's manufacturing workers and farmers,” he said in a tweet. “It sets better standards that defend American jobs and opens Canadian markets for dairy farmers in our area.”

Republican Rep. Fred Keller also saw the House vote Thursday as a significant boost for his district.

“The USMCA is a huge win for farmers and workers in central and northeast Pennsylvania, who have been left behind by unfair trade deals for too long,” he said in a statement. “It is a shame it took nearly a year for Speaker Pelosi to bring this important trade deal to a vote while House Democrats obsessed over impeaching President Trump.”

Democrat Dwight Evans praised the USMCA, but indicated that his backing of that particular legislation wouldn’t stop him from opposing President Trump’s other initiatives.

“The House also passed the #USMCA trade agreement today that should help with keeping American jobs here, and I & other Democrats will keep fighting Trump’s cuts to #SNAP (food stamps),” Evans said in a tweet.

 

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