Chris White Tech Reporter
January 16, 2020 1:30 PM ET
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted against the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on Thursday, citing concerns that the trade deal doesn’t adequately address global warming.
The Senate passed the deal by a margin of 89-10. The USMCA‘s supporters say the bipartisan trade agreement could help America’s farmers, ranchers, businesses and workers.
“Despite the fact that it includes very good labor provisions, I am voting against USMCA because it does not address climate change, the greatest threat facing the planet,” the New York senator said in a press statement addressing his vote. ” … the USMCA falls far too short.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi helped hammer out provisions that made the deal more palatable for Democrats. (RELATED: Senate Passes United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA))
“It is infinitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration,” she said shortly after introducing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. “It’s a victory for American workers, and it’s one that we take great pride in advancing.”
Schumer, for his part, said the USMCA will provide some help to New York’s agricultural industry.
“I also fought hard to make sure New York dairy producers would benefit from this deal, and will fight to ensure that those reforms are enforced,” he said.
Climate activists are also criticizing the deal, which replaced a nearly three-decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
“They dropped the ball completely,” Natural Resources Defense Council representative Amanda Maxwell told The Washington Post in December 2019. “This just returns us to an inadequate status quo.”
“I also fought hard to make sure New York dairy producers would benefit from this deal, and will fight to ensure that those reforms are enforced,” he said.”
Wait, those aren’t methane spewing cows are they? As long as they are certified non-methane cows I guess it’s all right.
Sometimes you start to think it’s all just virtue signalling, but then you stop and reflect it’s all virtue signalling and the top, but a lot of the slow learners end up thinking it’s real.
We manufacture that latter group in our Public School systems and they we teach them how to form safe zones, hand make signs, and march in protest at advanced slow learning centers called College.
Thanks to Obama, who federalized the student loan program, we indenture them to the state through massive debt for “dumbing down” degrees in non-science aka NONSENSE degrees like communication, Journalism, Film Studies, Gender Studies, [Fill in the study] Studies.
The state now has the power to provide debt forgiveness to the slowest among us in exchange for life long servitude to the socialist cause.
This slow moving train wreck left the station a long time before Obama was even born.
Sounds just like Australia Bill. We have student loans here too, they only have to be paid back once you are earning above a certain amount. Of course there are many “mature aged” art students that take advantage of this knowing full well they will never sell enough of their art that they need to worry. These are the people who think that all education should be free. And yes the courses have been dumbed down here too.
Canadian dairy farmers & consumers suffered greatly in NAFTA2.
Canada has Supply Management. This means that our milk supply is managed by the Milk Marketing Board to keep prices at the point where farmers don’t go bankrupt. After all, everything can be bought more cheaply from somewhere else in the world, including milk. Europeans have understood this for decades from their many wars; they subsidise their farmers everywhere.
Our Dairy Producers also carefully inspect our milk to ensure that it contains No antibiotics or bovine growth hormone, used by American farmers. (Do you trust government departments to properly insect your food?)
In return for Supply Management within Canada, our farmers agreed to Not sell their milk outside Canada.
-/-
What our Canadian negotiators should have gotten was a deal that traded 5% of the Canadian market for the same market share in America.
With that deal, our farmers would sell their milk in Whole Foods stores at higher Canadian prices. They’d advertise:
“Buy Canadian milk – no antibiotics or bovine growth hormone”
and sell their entire 5% share in a month.
An additional tragedy is that we can’t trust Agriculture Canada to properly inspect American milk products as they enter Canada to see that they don’t contain antibiotics or bovine growth hormone. In short, our own milk supply chain will become contaminated. These two uncontrolled extras in milk can certainly contribute to the growth of cancer in America, and is why they are banned in Canada.
Even worse, out federal government will pay our dairy farmers to buy out that 5% share. They’ll do it with deficits repaid by our grandchildren because governments buy votes instead of running balanced budgets.
Once again, Canadians are losers to American bullies.
“they subsidise their farmers everywhere.”
The UE has been destroying productivity with absurd regulations. The population has been brainwashed to believe nitrates are poison when all existed for decades was mediocre, confused link of extreme levels of nitrates and intoxication of babies who were ill from bad water.
“The subsidies”, like a gift to be pardoned after a fault, is a small compensation for the punitive anti pesticides anti GMO anti nitrates “regulations”.
You know (obviously you don’t), that there’s about zero evidence that “antibiotics or bovine growth hormone” have ANY significant health effect. And, by the way, none of the milk in my stores in CA have any “antibiotics or bovine growth hormone”. So evidently you’re full of bovine “you know what”.
If there is any doubt about whether supply management boards are useful, watch the Netflix production of ‘Rotten’, Season 1, Milk Money. We pay 50 cents a gallon more for better quality milk, and the farmers are not devouring themselves and each other to get by.
For a mere half a Canadian buck, I feel those are just returns.
It’s a start, we should get rid of government interference in the US milk market too.
When I’m in the cheese isle and I’m looking at cheese prices and I get steamed thinking of the warehoused government cheese they buy just to drive prices up.
When do I get my government cheese dividend?
Canadian dairy farmers & consumers suffered greatly in NAFTA2.
Canada has Supply Management. This means that our milk supply is managed by the Milk Marketing Board to keep prices at the point where farmers don’t go bankrupt. After all, everything can be bought more cheaply from somewhere else in the world, including milk. Europeans have understood this for decades from their many wars; they subsidise their farmers everywhere.
Our Dairy Producers also carefully inspect our milk to ensure that it contains No antibiotics or bovine growth hormone, used by American farmers. (Do you trust government departments to properly insect your food?)
In return for Supply Management within Canada, our farmers agreed to Not sell their milk outside Canada.
-/-
What our Canadian negotiators should have gotten was a deal that traded 5% of the Canadian market for the same market share in America.
With that deal, our farmers would sell their milk in Whole Foods stores at higher Canadian prices. They’d advertise:
“Buy Canadian milk – no antibiotics or bovine growth hormone”
and sell their entire 5% share in a month.
An additional tragedy is that we can’t trust Agriculture Canada to properly inspect American milk products as they enter Canada to see that they don’t contain antibiotics or bovine growth hormone. In short, our own milk supply chain will contribute to the growth of cancer in America, and is why they are banned in Canada.
Even worse, out federal government will pay our dairy farmers to buy out that 5% share. They’ll do it with deficits repaid by our grandchildren because governments buy votes instead of running balanced budgets.
Once again, Canadians are losers to American bullies. become contaminated. These two uncontrolled extras in milk can certainly
(Rescued from spam bin) SUNMOD
That’s right, Senator Chuck You Scummer voted against the bill AND took credit for some of its provisions, while ignoring the fact that what he claims credit for goes against the supposed reason why he voted against it.
A virtuoso performance really.
“They dropped the ball completely,”
said by someone who can not tell the difference between a ball and crock of S**T.
What about the other Senators that voted against USMCA?
Of the 10 (including Schumer):
9 Democrats, 1 Republican
6 were concerned about climate change and 4 for the economy.
4 were running for President, but all have dropped out of race except for Bernie Sanders
BAD for CLIMATE CHANGE
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
“Instead of advancing global climate security by outlining binding and enforceable climate commitments from all three countries, the Trump administration provides significant incentives for manufacturers to move their business and their jobs from the U.S. to Mexico, where clean air and clean water regulations are much weaker”
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif)
“By not addressing climate change, the USMCA fails to meet the crises of this moment”
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
“a profound environmental and climate failure” that will “hinder progress on climate action for a generation”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
Whitehouse is an ardent environmentalist who delivers a weekly address on the Senate floor chronicling the damage of climate change. He also opposed the USMCA over the issue.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.)
“It still fails to provide adequately for Rhode Island’s workers and is a missed opportunity to address climate change and environmental protections in a meaningful way.”
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
Schatz has advocated for Congress and federal regulators to impose greater requirements on corporations to fight and identify climate risks. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
BAD for ECONOMY
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)
“Outside of a few necessary modernizations and modest market access improvements for Pennsylvania’s dairy farmers, USMCA is a step backwards”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
“We need to fundamentally rewrite our disastrous trade agreements and create and protect good-paying American jobs,” “This agreement does virtually nothing to stop the outsourcing of jobs to Mexico.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
“Bad trade deals, including NAFTA, hollowed out upstate New York’s manufacturing industry,” “I don’t believe this agreement will reverse this trend or help the generations of New Yorkers who lost good,” “fails to close loopholes for corporate polluters or set binding, enforceable standards to protect clean air and water.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)
“USMCA does not meaningfully address any of these issues: jobs will continue to be outsourced, the environment will continue to be under attack, and middle class and working families will continue to be left behind,”
Gillibrand is either utterly stupid or intentionally lying. Typical response from “do nothing”, ”care nothing” sitting Politicians.
A constant increasing barrage of new and/or revised Ordinances, Statues and Laws, ….. plus ever increasing wages, salaries, real estate taxes, school taxes, personal property taxes, ….. plus town, village, county and state taxes …… made it virtually impossible for upstate New York’s manufacturers to “earn a profit”.
When “outsourcing” of goods and services from “across-the-pond” ceased to work, they closed the doors and/or moved their manufacturing to southern states or “across-the-pond”.
Thousands of high income earning New York residents are now “following suite” that began with manufacturers more than 30 years ago.
Effin’ Gillibrand is supremely effin’ stupid!!
Sounds horrible for legislation that passed 89-10.
The unions liked it so the Dems had to vote for it, but they are carping because it’s a win for Trump.
An 89 to 10 vote for USMCA in the Senate should be a signal to Democrats to stop their circular firing squads, but they seem determined to keep shooting. I vote we give them more ammo, both literally and figuratively.
Methinks he dost protest too much. According to The New American..
“Environment The USMCA also promotes the United Nation’s concept of “sustainable development,” which is the cornerstone of the UN’s Agenda 21/Agenda 2030 program to address the purported problem of anthropogenic climate change. Agenda 2030 calls for the redistribution of wealth from richer developed nations to underdeveloped countries in the global south. It also advocates for numerous controls over people’s lives and daily actions; and imposes onerous regulations that would prevent developing nations from industrializing, in turn stagnating their economies. Whereas the original 1994 NAFTA did not even contain a chapter on the environment, the USMCA has a 30-page environment chapter (Chapter 24) that mentions “sustainable development” nine times, starting on page 24-2, where it states: “The Parties recognize that a healthy environment is an integral element of sustainable development and recognize the contribution that trade makes to sustainable development.” Chapter 24 also contains additional references to “sustainable fisheries” and the “sustainable use of biodiversity,” both of which are in line with the UN’s Agenda 2030.”
The rest is well worth a read…
https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/north-america/item/33596-what-s-really-in-the-usmca
Thanks Linda, well said, and for the link. I’ll read it in detail.
If Chuck Schumer would keep his mouth closed for one year, the temperature on the planet would likely go down by at least one degree.
😆
Schumer is dumber than a stump. The other Dems listed are right along with him.
….“if Chuck Schumer would keep his mouth shut…”
Reminds me of wise old Bahamian saying: “Shut mout’ catch no flies”
Cheers
Mike
Or:
“It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
(And, no, that’s not from Proverbs.)
True, that version of the saying is usually attributed to the likes of Mark Twain or Abraham Lincoln. Proverbs, however, does have a similar sentiment in Proverbs 17:28
NIV: “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.”
KJ: “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.”
the main difference between the two is that for the proverbs version the emphasis is on a fool been seen as wise whereas the version you quoted the emphasis is on the fool not being outed as the fool that he is.
bull….he’s trying to turn is “anything but Trump” BS into some virtue signaling BS
Here, let’s fix it:
Schumer—”I hate Trump, so I voted against it.” There, honesty.
DING! DING! DING!
We have the winner!
Well, at least he’s consistent in his nuttery.
What ever excuse they think might work in this battle between Crony Capitalists/Multinational companies/Wall Street and Main Street. I can’t help but think that Toomey is going to hurt by his no vote.
Phase I with China completed. USMCA completed. Leveling the playing field with the EU is next. The bluster, wailing, and finally tantrums will be something to watch.
BTW Trump was once again proven correct concerning the massive corruption in distribution of disaster relief to Puerto Rico. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/01/18/wow-puerto-rico-governor-fires-emergency-response-director-after-massive-warehouse-of-unused-aid-discovered/
I can’t help but think that Toomey is going to [be] hurt by his no vote.
Indeed being a “purple” state that went blue for Obama and red for Trump, he’s probably miscalculating there thinking it will “help” him with the “middle”. It won’t get the blues to vote for him, and that vote isn’t going to endear him to the reds, and the swingers in the middle don’t give a damn. He narrowly won re-election in 2016 and if Trump hadn’t of won the state it’s likely Toomey wouldn’t currently be sitting in the Senate. Fortunately for Toomey, he won’t be facing the voters for another 2 years, so this vote will mostly be forgotten by then.
So both NY senators voted against the agreement. New York state and West Virginia are bringing up the rear in US GDP growth. Something has to be done!
Actually only 2 of 3 NY senators voted against the bill. Ron Wyden (D) NY/OR voted for it. We call him NY’s 3rd senator since his wife and children live in NYC and so does he in his off time. Why Oregonians keep voting for him is beyond me. Actually it isn’t beyond me, he’s a D and campaigns in Oregon which makes him a shoe in to win election.
This literally could have been an article at the Babylon Bee website. The Democrats have lost their minds.
Tom, that’s why the Bee’s long-term future is in doubt. Satire can never compete with the Demorat’s reality!
Sorry, before Jeff gets me…I meant the Demorats’ reality
the proper spelling is “Demonrats’ reality” or alternately “DemonRats’ reality” 😉
I stand corrected
It’s simple, just pipe that Mexican heat up here to Canada; that’ll be a pipeline every Canadian would support.
Having spent 50 years in the financial markets I don’t have to read a full account of the agreement to know something important will have not been covered.
The Canadian and Mexican currencies should be pegged to the US dollar.
Both countries will depreciate relative to the US.
As happened with the old NAFTA.
A chronic “cheat” to America’s disadvantage.
The best would be pegged currencies, with each country declaring unilateral free trade.
Another deal for the bureaucrats, by the bureaucrats.
I’m a Canadian living in Vancouver.
Real free trade is good.
Perhaps in the near term, geologically speaking, climate change is our greatest threat. Not the trivial recent warming that has, by all measures, made life better for all, but the potential imminent descent back into the more prevalent cold periods of the current ice age where much of northern civilization will be entombed under kilometres thick ice. Now that is something the evidence does support and which we should at least spend a bit of time thinking about.
Sickening grotesque idiot shoomer and his smarmy ‘glasses at end of nose’ freak.
This was a good excuse for Chuck Schumer to get free publicity.
Passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was a sure thing, so a NO vote by him did not matter in that sense.
Had he voted ‘yea’ the media would have shrugged.
Do you think Climate-Chucki did not know this?
From the article: “It is infinitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration,” she said shortly after introducing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. “It’s a victory for American workers, and it’s one that we take great pride in advancing.”
Pelosi prevented a vote on this bill for almost a year. A lot of people stood to benefit greatly by this agreement in all three nations, but Nancy held up their benefits for almost a year.
Nancy Pelosi says the partisan Democrat impeachment of Trump will stain Trump forever. There will be a stain, but it won’t be on Trump, instead it will be a stain on Nancy Pelosi, as history notes how she abused her congressional power for political purposes. Nancy and the other Democrats who voted to impeach Trump will go down in infamy.
I bet Nancy is not going to like being House Minority Leader again.
Nobody has yet (AFAIK) produced a consistent theory of how more freedom of choice consumes more resources and generates more emissions.
A 4.4 quake just hit at Manhattan Kansas. It is the largest quake since 4/24/1867 which struck during the SOLAR MINIMUM. The large quakes in Puerto Rico on the 10th/11th/15th were the largest quakes since 1918 (Fermin), during a Gleissberg, then and now. The Taal volcano erupted on the 12th which was the biggest eruption since 1911 at the SOLAR MINIMUM, and during that Gleissberg cycle.
China had a very strong quake this morning. The USGS daily quake map is showing some unusual behavior, imo. This is zero week for my New Madrid quake prediction made last year. In May of this year the first small quakes at New Madrid and other nearby susceptible towns started showing up. These have mainly been 2.5 to 3.0+ quakes. There is a small quake at New Madrid today, and then the strong Kansas quake. Nature could get very interesting this week.
Chuck has made a career in bad policy and vote manipulation.
Amen. One of the biggest pieces of bovine excrement in Congress ever.