We don't know, of course, precisely what Vice President Pence will say tomorrow, but it will hardly be his first speech on the issue. Judging from his recent appearances, getting USCMA across the Congressional finish line is a top priority for the Vice President, and he has been talking about it a lot.
On May 16, Vice President Pence spoke at JD Manufacturing in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He was accompanied by
Stephen Censky, the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. The company makes ventilation system products for dairy, swine, and poultry farms, and the audience that day included Wisconsin farmers as well as the employees of JD Manufacturing. As in other such speeches, Mr. Pence urged early Congressional approval of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), noting particularly the benefits to Wisconsin agriculture. The Vice President:
You know, J&D Manufacturing creates some of the nation's finest agriculture equipment. Am I right? (Laughter and applause.) Okay, good.
And, frankly, many of the farmers you supply are here with us today. And I'm proud to report to you and to all of them, the USMCA is going to give American producers the level playing field you need to compete as you continue feeding the world. It's true.
...The USMCA is a win for Wisconsin dairy and for American dairy. And we need it to pass.
On May 20, the Vice President was in Jacksonville, Florida, where he told the crowd:
Make no mistake about it: the USMCA is a win for Florida and a win for America. The President has done his job; it's time for the Congress to do their job and pass the USMCA this summer.
Earlier in the same address, the Vice President had noted that
the retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico on "American pork, cheese, and orange juice" have been lifted, adding,
"Florida's farmers are going to win like never before."
On May 22, the Vice President visited Parkdale Mills in Monroe, North Carolina. The company is the largest yarn manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere and buys about half of U.S. cotton production. Accompanied by Commerce Secretary
Wilbur Ross, Vice President Pence told the workers at Parkdale Mills,
"We need Congress to approve the USMCA this summer."
It's a good bet that the agreement does in fact have their support. As one press report explained, USMCA "closes a number of loopholes that in NAFTA were detrimental to the U.S. textile industry."
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The U.S.-Canada relationship has been more than a little contentious these last couple of years. Yet we expect Vice President Pence and his Canadian hosts will be on the same page when he visits Ottawa tomorrow, and just maybe USMCA will be a little bit closer to a functioning reality. Like you, we'll be reading the reports of that visit with interest.
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