VP Pence Goes on the Trail in Support of New Trade Deal

Pence pressured Congress to support Pres. Trump’s new trade deal with its North American neighbors. He voiced his support for the plan while speaking at a congressional swing district in New Mexico.

While talking to the crowd at an oil company in the Permian basin, Pence stated that the future of the U.S. energy sector and its prosperity are dependants on the approval of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

He explained that the trade deal would result in more and better energy infrastructure between Mexico and the U.S. However, he did not specify what exactly that entails; therefore, it is unknown whether he meant transmission wires, pipelines, or any other method.

Pence praised the USMCA and claimed it would open the door to a better future for the American energy sector. He urged citizens to contact the State’s Democratic representatives.

Pres. Trump also praised the trilateral agreement, which was also signed by the former president of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto and the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Pres. Trump hailed the deal as a victory for the U.S. manufacturing, with various incentives for the cars made with a larger number of North American components and increased wager requirements in Mexico.

However, the enabling legislation needs approval from both the U.S. House and the Senate. That includes the new House majority of the Democratic Party, which demands more environmental and labor concessions. In addition, the Democrats are unwilling to give Pres. Trump a significant trade victory so close to the 2020 election.

The Vice President’s tour around the West included various events which intended to promote the new trade deal in the two districts that the GOP lost to the Democrats last year. One of those is a New Mexico congressional district which is on the border with Mexico and is filled with oil fields and army bases.

The Vice President’s campaign also took him to York, Pennsylvania, where he stressed the importance of the pact to an audience of salespeople, tradespeople, and engineers. The county overwhelmingly voted for Trump; however, the GOP’s performance was lacking in last year’s midterms.

Certain political commentators praised Pence’s pragmatic strategy of rallying community leaders and local businesses to the trade-pact cause, especially while Congress members are at their homes on recess.

The Vice-President’s next stop on his tour is Salt Lake City. There, he intends to speak in the only Democrat-controlled district in the state.

The Vice-President was accompanied by the Commerce Secretary David Bernhardt and the Interior Secretary Wilbur Ross, who also praised the deal.

In the New Mexico district visited by the Vice-President, Rep. Xochitl Torres Small was the one who took the district from the GOP in 2018. She took a relatively centrist route on border security and voted against a $15 minimum wage.

The representatives’ office did not respond to our questions concerning her stance on USMCA or its possible amendments.

Pres. Trump is trying to present the new trade deal as a replacement to the North America Free Trade Agreement that was signed 25 years ago — a deal he criticized in his presidential campaign. The USMCA has many critical updates for the modern digital economy and new labor protections.

Pence highlighted the administration’s efforts to deregulate federal environmental restrictions and increase employment opportunities in various oil and gas exploration ventures around the U.S.

Pence stated to an audience of oil-industry executives and workers that they needed to fight the “radical climate change agenda” and stop the regression of the U.S. energy industry.