Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont said that while the North American trade pact the House passed Thursday is a “modest improvement” over the status quo, he would not vote for it.
“It is not going to stop outsourcing. It is not going to stop corporations from moving to Mexico,” Mr. Sanders said at the Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles. “The word climate change, to the best of my knowledge, is not discussed in this new NAFTA agreement at all, which is an outrage.”
On an overwhelming bipartisan vote, the House on Thursday approved President Trump’s rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Democrats touted additional labor and environmental protections in the deal as reason to support it, even as it handed Mr. Trump a major policy win.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota touted those bolstered environmental and labor standards as reason to support the deal, while also touting support from Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio Democrat.
“I would not have voted for the agreement that President Trump put forward,” Ms. Klobuchar said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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