Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Thursday that she would oppose approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, saying the Trump administration should instead reopen talks on the deal.
Warren’s comment suggests the deal, which would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, could face serious trouble getting through the Senate when it is brought for a vote, likely next year.
“There’s no question we need to renegotiate NAFTA. But as it’s currently written, Trump’s deal won’t stop the serious and ongoing harm NAFTA causes for American workers. It won’t stop outsourcing, it won’t raise wages, and it won’t create jobs. It’s NAFTA 2.0,” Warren tweeted Thursday afternoon.
There’s no question we need to renegotiate NAFTA. But as it’s currently written, Trump’s deal won’t stop the serious and ongoing harm NAFTA causes for American workers. It won’t stop outsourcing, it won’t raise wages, and it won’t create jobs. It’s NAFTA 2.0.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) November 29, 2018
She added in a follow-up tweet: “I oppose NAFTA 2.0, and I will vote against it in the Senate unless @realDonaldTrump reopens the agreement and produces a better deal for America’s working families.”
Reopening the negotiations between the three countries would require the White House to also restart the process for submitting the deal to Congress under Trade Promotion Authority, giving lawmakers additional leverage to demand changes to the text of the legislation before it could be resubmitted for approval. The three countries, which struggled for months to reach agreement on USMCA, are unlikely to want to restart the process.
The U.S., Canada, and Mexico are set to participate in a symbolic signing ceremony for the deal Friday during the G-20 summit in Argentina.
