Bernie Sanders reveals he won't vote for USMCA, says climate change omission in deal is an 'outrage'

It's a no from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

During Thursday's Democratic primary debate, Sanders revealed he would not be voting for the USMCA, which overwhelmingly passed the House earlier Thursday with bipartisan backing.

"This is a modest improvement over what we have right now," Sanders said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

He went on to say the deal won't stop outsourcing or prevent corporations from utilizing cheap labor in Mexico, although it would allow Mexican workers to potentially unionize.

Sanders also called the omission of climate change in the deal an "outrage."

Fellow presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) followed-up Sanders' remarks by voicing her own support for the deal, citing fellow Midwestern Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) who also supports the agreement.

Sanders also used his moment to recycle a not-so-subtle shot at former Vice President Joe Biden, saying "I, unlike some of my colleagues here, voted against NAFTA, voted against PNTR with China — two agreements that cost us over four million decent paying jobs."