Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., labeled the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade “unacceptable” Friday, indicating that he may oppose it when it comes up for a vote in the Senate next year.
Rubio joins a small but growing chorus of lawmakers on both sides who are coming out against the deal and could complicate its chances for passage.
“As currently drafted this deal will put #Florida seasonal vegetable growers out of business,” Rubio tweeted Friday. “It allows #Mexico to dump government subsidized produce on the U.S. market. Going forward America will depend on Mexico for our winter vegetables. Unacceptable.”
As currently drafted this deal will put #Florida seasonal vegetable growers out of business.
It allows #Mexico to dump government subsidized produce on the U.S. market. Going forward America will depend on Mexico for our winter vegetables. Unacceptable. https://t.co/vSvtAeXlVB
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 30, 2018
Rubio has been complaining about the deal’s potential impact on his state’s agricultural industry for months. In September, he jointly introduced legislation with Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., to give producers of seasonal fruits and vegetables standing to seek trade remedy relief through the imposition of anti-dumping or countervailing duties.
The text of the trade deal was signed Friday morning in Buenos Aires, Argentina by President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. The deal still needs to be approved by each nation’s respective legislatures. Time has run out for a vote in the U.S. Congress this year.
It is unclear what reception the USMCA will get in Congress next year, many lawmakers having hedged on supporting or opposing it. However, some on the Right, like Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., have said they would oppose it as too anti-free trade, while some on the left like Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have said they would oppose it as too corporate-friendly.
