Bernie Sanders attacks Trump's trade policy, as he lays out his own priorities

Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2020 presidential candidate, on Monday released a set of proposals aimed at making trade agreements fairer, preventing the outsourcing of American jobs and reducing the trade deficit, as a debate over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) continues in Congress.

Sanders is calling for lawmakers to reject the USMCA, which he referred to as “NAFTA 2.0,” claiming the agreement, which took the three countries more than a year to iron out, does not include “adequate protection” for all workers.

“In 2016, Trump promised he would substantially reduce the trade deficit, stop the outsourcing of American jobs, and rip up NAFTA. He lied about all three,” Sanders said in a statement.

According to Sanders’ office, under Trump’s tenure, more than 185,000 jobs have been shipped overseas. The trade deficit has also widened to more than $890 billion.

In addition to calling on the president to scrap the USMCA, Sanders called on his fellow 2020 candidates to support a number of policies regarding trade, including:

  • An executive order ending federal contracts to corporations that outsource American jobs
  • A commitment to renegotiate all of our unfair trade deals to prevent the outsourcing of American jobs and raise wages
  • A promise to avoid appointing trade representatives from Wall Street
  • A pledge to repeal Trump’s tax breaks that reward companies for moving their factories overseas
  • Sanders also committed to label China a currency manipulator and prevent it from dumping artificially cheap products into the U.S. when he is in the White House

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While Sanders has repeated calls for the president to drop the USMCA, Democrats seem to be seeking to delay voting on the deal, as reported by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, suggesting they won’t allow a vote to happen unless certain changes are made.

Meanwhile, National Economic Director Larry Kudlow told FOX Business on Sunday that the renegotiated deal would add as many as 180,000 jobs to the U.S. labor force and could generate $100 billion per year for the U.S. economy.

Kudlow described House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, as "very cooperative," and expressed hope she would allow the deal to move forward for a vote in the near future.