Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., hailed the passage of the new NAFTA trade agreement today, by a bipartisan 89-10 vote.
The updated agreement with Mexico and Canada includes strong new enforcement provisions by Wyden and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, along with modern digital trade rules to advance innovation and free speech, and new environmental protections.
“The version of NAFTA the Trump administration released in 2018 was fundamentally flawed, particularly because it was weak on enforcement,” said Wyden. “After a lot of work by members here in the Senate and in the House, the proposition of protecting American workers from trade cheats is now at the heart of this agreement. No more corporate race to the bottom coming at the expense of America’s middle class. Today’s broad, bipartisan vote in favor of the new NAFTA reflects the fact that putting workers first is absolutely essential to trade that Oregonians and the rest of America can support.”
Oregon labor, agriculture and business leaders also praised the updated agreement and Wyden’s work to secure it.
“Mexico is US wheat’s biggest customer, and this is a good agreement for US wheat and a good agreement for our milling customers in Mexico,” said Walter Powell, chair of the Oregon Wheat Commission.
Marty Myers, general manager of Threemile Canyon Farms, said the deal will benefit ag producers in the Columbia Basin.
“This agreement is significant for our business and the Columbia Basin overall because both our major agricultural products – dairy and potatoes – benefit,” said Myers. “Mexico buys a lot of dairy and they love Oregon and U.S. potato products.”
