Joe Biden Supported Job-Killing NAFTA Then Flip-Flopped On Pro-Michigan Jobs Plan, USMCA

Congresswoman Haley Stevens and other Michigan liberals seem to have forgotten that Biden supported the job-killing NAFTA and other dangerous trade policies that cost 160,000 Michigan jobs.

August 28, 2020

Many liberals in Michigan are touting Joe Biden’s support of the auto bailout today as Vice President Mike Pence visits the state again. What supporters like Congresswoman Haley Stevens fail to mention is Biden’s support for the job-killing NAFTA trade deal and his flip-flop of the USMCA – a trade deal championed by President Trump and Vice President Pence that puts Michigan’s workers first. 

The Facts On USMCA: President Trump’s USMCA deal is “critical” for the automotive industry which makes up 19% of the state’s economy

• USMCA raises the wages and protects manufacturing jobs supporting roughly 46,000 workers across 14 Ford manufacturing plants in Michigan. 
• Executives For Ford, GM, And Fiat Chrysler praised the USMCA saying it was “critical” for their companies. 
• Vice President Pence said the USMCA trade deal was essential to keeping Michigan automotive manufacturers competitive. 

Biden’s Flip-Flop On USMCA: 

• In September 2018, when asked if he supported renegotiating NAFTA, Biden said “No.” (CNN’s “Inside Politics,” 9/3/18)
• In the July 2019 Democratic Presidential Primary Debate, Biden said he would oppose a new NAFTA (CNN’s “Democratic Debate,” 7/31/19)
• THEN: In December 2019, Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield announced Biden’s support for USMCA.

The Facts On Biden’s Support For Job-Killing NAFTA:  

• In November 1993, Joe Biden voted for the passage of NAFTA. (H.R. 3450, CQ Vote #395)
• According to Biden, he didn’t buy “labor’s argument that NAFTA would result in the migration of low-wage factory jobs to Mexico.” (The News Journal [Delaware], 9/19/93)
• More than 350,000 U.S. auto sector jobs were lost during the NAFTA era, one-third of all jobs in the sector. 

Congresswoman Haley Stevens and other Michigan liberals seem to have forgotten that Joe Biden supported the job-killing NAFTA and other dangerous trade policies that cost 160,000 Michigan jobs while Vice President Pence and President Trump have advocated for policies like the USMCA that put Michigan workers first and keeps American jobs in America. – Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action.