Maine’s two U.S. House members voted against ratification of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal on Thursday, which passed overwhelmingly 385-41.
The agreement is supposed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, but Democratic U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden say it does not improve trade rules that have harmed many Maine companies.
“The priorities that have been set, big corporations, big agriculture, Silicon Valley, Amazon and the digital economy, is just not what we have in rural Maine,” Golden says. “Canadian trade practices that harm our blueberry farmers, harm our lobstermen, harm our loggers and sawmills and others, this bill does nothing to address that. The administration didn’t try.”
They say the proposed deal doesn’t do enough to keep Maine jobs from being sent overseas or to recover any of the 24,000 jobs lost under NAFTA.
The Republican controlled Senate is expected to pass the agreement next month.
