McConnell Discusses USMCA on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Alley’
‘What I want to do is spend our time accomplishing things for the American people…The House spent the last three years harassing this president, and I gather we're going to get another chapter of that with the impeachment episode. But we need to find other things that actually make a difference for the American people and try to accomplish as much as we can. That's what I want to do, and that's what we're in the process of trying to encourage the House to do by taking up USMCA.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” to discuss the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the ongoing trade negotiations with China, and House Democrats:
On USMCA:
“The argument for USMCA is very, very compelling, you know: 176,000 new jobs, $68 billion increase in gross domestic product, we have 12 million jobs already related to our trade relationship with Canada and Mexico. So I think it is going to be pretty hard for her not to take it up, even though voting for a Trump trade deal, I gather, is a bitter pill for them.”
On trade negotiations with China:
“I’d sure like for it to reach some resolution soon. It has been very tough on American agriculture. As you know, my party is very deeply based in rural America and small town America. So, I hope the president can get a good outcome here. The Chinese have been stealing our intellectual property and not playing by the rules for a long time. I admire what he is trying to do, but I hope we can get a conclusion to this soon because rural America really needs it, and rural America also needs the USMCA. I mean, this is a big deal for American agriculture to get this new and improved deal with the Canadians and Mexicans, as well.”
On the Senate Republicans Legislative Agenda:
“What I want to do is spend our time accomplishing things for the American people. USMCA, as Leader McCarthy and I pointed out in The Wall Street Journal today, is something we can agree on, something we ought to do. It makes a difference for the American people. The House spent the last three years harassing this president, and I gather we're going to get another chapter of that with the impeachment episode. But we need to find other things that actually make a difference for the American people and try to accomplish as much as we can. That's what I want to do, and that's what we're in the process of trying to encourage the House to do by taking up USMCA.”
Related Issues: China
Next Previous
