Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the new trade deal signed Friday by leaders of the United States, Canada, and Mexico “too weak,” and pledged to alter it when it reaches Congress to include new trade, wage, and environmental provisions.
“For the new trade agreement to receive a majority support in Congress, – including from members like myself, who have long opposed NAFTA and demanded improvements, it must prove to be a net benefit to middle-class families and working people in our country and must have strong labor and environmental protections, which in the present deal are too weak,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday.
Lawmakers will have a role in approving and altering the trade deal in the next Congress.
Schumer said he’ll also seek new protections for dairy farmers, who have been hurt by current trade policies.
The trade deal, Schumer added, “should recognize that climate change is a grave threat to our countries’ economies and the health and safety of our citizens.”
Reaction to the deal in Congress is likely to vary by region.
Texas lawmakers, for example, favored the old NAFTA agreement because border states benefited from it. Senate Majority Leader John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he plans to review the deal “to ensure it’s good for Texas and preserves the millions of jobs that already rely on NAFTA.”
