Tina Smith on Free Trade

Farmers worried about losing their access to markets

"I've spent the last couple of days in southwestern Minnesota, and the issue of tariffs has been uppermost on people's minds. In farm country, farmers are very worried about losing their access to markets that they have spent decades building," Smith said.

Immediate action on steel dumping, to protect U.S. jobs

We were pleased that your Administration is committed to improve the standards used to determine if anti-dumping trade enforcement actions are necessary, strengthen enforcement so that determinations of unfair dumping can be made quickly, and aggressively pursue full federal benefits for workers and their families impacted by plant closures.

We believe the Administration must demonstrate its commitment to keeping steel industry jobs in the U.S. by proposing stronger enforcement measures to confront foreign dumping and respond to the low prices driven by foreign overproduction. Steel remains a critical part of the economy, and it is essential that the industry not be pushed into decline by foreign producers.

Implement USMCA for improved North American trade.

Summary from Congressional Record and Wikipedia:Vote to amend the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and establish the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Rather than a wholly new agreement, it has been characterized as `NAFTA 2.0`; final terms were negotiated on September 30, 2018 by each country. The agreement is scheduled to come into effect on July 1, 2020.

Case for voting YES by Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL); (Dec. 19, 2019)The USMCA includes stronger protections for American workers and enforceable labor standards, as well as environmental protections. It eliminates the Trump Administration`s threat that the US could walk away entirely from the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, which would devastate US jobs and our economy.

Case for voting NO by Jared Huffman (D-CA); (Dec. 19, 2019) Democratic negotiators did a lot to improve Donald Trump`s weak trade deal, especially in terms of labor standards and enforcement, but the final deal did not reach the high standard that I had hoped for. The NAFTA renegotiations were a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lift labor and environmental standards across the continent--to lock in serious climate commitments with two of our largest trading partners and dramatically improve labor standards and enforcement to slow the rise of outsourcing.

Legislative outcome: Bill Passed (Senate) (89-10-1) - Jan. 16, 2020; bill Passed (House) (385-41-5) - Dec. 19, 2019; signed at the G20 Summit simultaneously by President Trump, Mexican President Enrique Nieto, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nov. 30, 2018