[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 10 (Thursday, January 16, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S265-S266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENT ON THE UNITED STATES-MEXICO-CANADA AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION
ACT
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, trade with Canada and Mexico is vitally
important to Maine's economy, supporting numerous small businesses and
more than 53,000 jobs in our State.
In reviewing the text of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the
replacement for the deeply flawed NAFTA, my paramount concern was
ensuring that Maine workers will be protected. After careful assessment
of the benefits USMCA will have for those employed in Maine's
manufacturing industry, agriculture sector, and small businesses, I
will vote in support of the USMCA.
According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, USMCA is
projected to have a positive impact on all broad industry sectors,
increasing employment by 176,000 jobs and increasing real GDP by $68.2
billion. This agreement also makes important improvements to labor and
environmental standards and brings these issues into the core of the
agreement. This is a step in the right direction for modernizing trade
agreements.
Dana Connors, president & CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce,
said:
Our border countries are important trade partners for Maine
businesses, in fact, trade with our friends to the north is
vital to many Maine businesses on a daily basis. The Maine
State Chamber of Commerce thanks Senator Collins for her
support of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The USMCA's passage is vital for Maine businesses, will
restore trade uncertainty and help our economy to continue to
thrive.
One out of five Maine manufacturing firms exports to Canada and
Mexico, and the majority of these are small- and medium-sized
companies. Without tariff-free trade, Maine's manufactured goods
exported to Canada and Mexico could face $6.3 million to $26 million in
additional tariffs, jeopardizing Maine jobs. Companies like New
Balance, which employs hundreds of Mainers at its facilities in
Norridgewock, Norway, and Skowhegan, and Texas Instruments in South
Portland, depend on a stable North American supply chain.
Amy Dow, director of public relations and government relations for
New Balance, said:
On behalf of our company's Maine associates, New Balance
supports the passage of the USMCA that will enable the
continued success and future growth of our three
manufacturing facilities in Maine. Senator Collins' support
and leadership on this trade agreement has been vital to
ensure that our factories can continue to produce thousands
of pairs of shoes annually for export to the Canadian market.
Stephen Bonner, Texas Instruments vice president for worldwide
government relations, said:
Texas Instruments is a long-time supporter of predictable,
open-market based trade policies. We're pleased that the new
USMCA includes strong digital trade and intellectual property
provisions to adapt the agreement to the 21st century
economy, and support its passage.
Our agricultural producers also rely on a stable and predictable
trading environment. U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico
more than quadrupled between 1993 and 2017. In Maine, I have heard from
producers in the dairy, potato, and wild blueberry industries who have
shared their support for free and fair trade agreements.
Maine has a special relationship with Canada in particular, given our
shared border. While there remain frictions with Canada, including
fishing rights, right whale regulations, and softwood lumber issues,
Canada is our largest trading partner and has consistently been our top
U.S. export market. As a native of Aroostook County, I know how many of
our border communities are truly intertwined, with people and goods
traveling back and forth daily. In 2019, Maine and Canada traded an
average of $350 million in goods per month.
Ambassador Robert Lighthizer deserves recognition for his tremendous
work on this agreement. It is impressive to see a trade agreement
receive such strong bipartisan support.
Vote on Motion to Waive
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is expired.
The question is on agreeing to the motion to waive.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe).
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Scott of Florida). Are there any other
Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 78, nays 21, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 13 Leg.]
YEAS--78
Alexander
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt
Booker
Boozman
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Ernst
Feinstein
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Harris
Hassan
Hawley
Heinrich
Hirono
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Jones
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Loeffler
Manchin
Markey
McConnell
McSally
Menendez
Merkley
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Peters
Portman
Reed
Risch
Roberts
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Shelby
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NAYS--21
Barrasso
Blackburn
Braun
Cassidy
Cruz
Enzi
Fischer
Gardner
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Paul
Perdue
Romney
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Tillis
Toomey
Young
NOT VOTING--1
Inhofe
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 78, the nays are
21. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is agreed to, and the point of order falls.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the title of the bill for
the third time.
The bill was ordered to a third reading and was read the third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 30 seconds
for me and 1 minute for Senator Wyden for closing remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the United States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement is a major achievement for President Trump and a very big
bipartisan win for the American people. We should all take care,
Republican or Democrat, that this is good. I look forward to signing
this bill and sending it to the President's desk.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, when the Trump administration unveiled
their
[[Page S266]]
original version of this proposal, it was stunning to see how weak it
was in terms of trade enforcement. When you write a proposal with weak
trade enforcement, particularly on labor and environmental issues, you
sell out American workers and you launch a corporate race to the bottom
of cheap wages and the treatment of labor.
Senator Brown and I decided that was unacceptable, and we were going
to create a trade enforcement regime with real teeth. We worked with
Senators here; we worked with Senators on the other side of the aisle
and in the other body. To give you an example of what this means with
respect to enforcing trade law, we sped up the timeline by more than
300 percent.
The second point--just very quickly--what this proposal does is bring
technology and trade policy into the 21st century. When the last North
American Free Trade Agreement was considered, nobody had a smartphone.
So what we did is protect intellectual property; we prohibited
shakedowns of data belonging to innovative companies; and on something
I care deeply about, we drew on established U.S. law to defend small
tech entrepreneurs working to build successful companies in a field
dominated by Goliaths.
I urge my colleagues to support this proposal and once again thank
Bob Lighthizer, the hardest working man in the trade agreement
business.
I urge a ``yes'' vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill pass?
Mr. WICKER. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 89, nays 10, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 14 Leg.]
YEAS--89
Alexander
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blackburn
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Hawley
Heinrich
Hirono
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Jones
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Leahy
Lee
Loeffler
Manchin
McConnell
McSally
Menendez
Merkley
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Paul
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Shelby
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Wicker
Wyden
Young
NAYS--10
Booker
Gillibrand
Harris
Markey
Reed
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Toomey
Whitehouse
NOT VOTING--1
Inhofe
The bill (H.R. 5430) was passed.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
____________________