New pact is victory for Don as NAFTA dies

WASHINGTON — The Senate handed President Trump his long-sought victory on trade Thursday, overwhelmingly approving the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement just before taking up his historic impeachment.

The White House and Republicans had to swallow dramatic Democratic alterations to protect labor unions and other Dem priorities in order to get it through, but Trump has already been hailing it as a win on the campaign trail.

The agreement, passed 89 to 10, revises the much-maligned NAFTA deal that Trump campaigned on scrapping in 2016.

Some Democrats opposed it because although the new measure added some environmental protections, many wanted more and it lacks any mention of climate change.

“This agreement is a missed opportunity to address the urgent threats we face from climate change. It fails to close loopholes for corporate polluters or set binding, enforceable standards to protect clean air and water,” said New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand before the measure came to the floor.

“The United States has a once in a generation opportunity to reprioritize our economy with two of our three largest trading partners,” Gillibrand added. “Unfortunately, this agreement falls well short.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also voted against it, saying it contained many of the same flaws as the NAFTA deal.

“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,” Schumer said.

“Meanwhile, the Trump administration also included handouts for the oil and gas industry, such as lifting tariffs on tar sands, and refused to include any mention of the climate crisis in the agreement. When it comes to climate change, the agreement still contains many of the same flaws of the original NAFTA, which I voted against,” he added.

Many of their colleagues, however, backed the measure for the improved protections that it does include, such as beefed-up labor enforcement that was strongly supported by the AFL-CIO.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hailed the passage as a “big bipartisan win,” previewing what is likely to be a GOP refrain in the 2020 elections pointing to Trump’s trade policies.

“It comes the very same week as Trump also signed Phase One of his administration’s trade agreement with China,” McConnell said. “Quite a week of substantive accomplishments for the nation, for the president, and for our international trade.”

When the deal passed the House last month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the concessions she won made it worth it — even if Trump counts it as a win.

“If the president wants to take credit, so be it. That would not stand in the way of our passing this.”