GOP Sen. Joni Ernst hails USMCA as a 'win' even though she hasn't read it


Sometimes, you wake up with the feeling that it's going to be a good day. You don't know why, exactly; it's just a sense.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) had a similar feeling about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the NAFTA update President Trump announced on Monday. She's absolutely confident the deal will be a wild success, even if she doesn't know why.
Ernst told CBS on Tuesday that USMCA is a "great win for Iowa." She said it would expand opportunities for the state to trade dairy products with neighboring nations and "level the playing field for wheat, as well."
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"Can you explain how it does that?" asked CBS News reporter Norah O'Donnell. Ernst could not.
"We haven't seen the negotiated texts of the language that's being put out there for the agreement," said Ernst. "I do look forward to going through that very specific text. But we do know that we all feel as Americans and Canadians and Mexicans that this is a great way forward." Ernst praised President Trump for securing the deal, lauding his efforts to somehow, in some mysterious way, help Iowa. Watch the full interview below, via CBS News. Summer Meza
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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