PLEASANT PRAIRIE — Vice President Mike Pence was in Pleasant Prairie Wednesday to talk trade policy.
The focus was on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, better known as the USMCA. He spoke at the Uline Warehouse in Pleasant Prairie before hundreds of supporters.
"I came to Wisconsin to say, it's time for Congress to enact the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and pass it this year," Pence said.
The deal aims to make America more globally competitive with the help of Canada and Mexico. Also referred to as the New NAFTA, it looks to make North America a powerhouse together.
"Wisconsin's top two export markets are Canada and Mexico," Pence said. "Do the math. The USMCA is a win for Wisconsin and a win for America."
For Wisconsin dairy farmers, a win is exactly what they are hoping for. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin has lead the country in farm bankruptcies, and America's Dairyland is one of the areas hardest hit.
"If you look at the state, we've lost 500 to 600 farmers over the last year and a half," Jill Gillmore of Bristol said. "As a former farmer, the USMCA is really important."
Gillmore and her husband own a farm in Bristol. Until 2015, it was a dairy farm. However, it became too difficult to maintain because of costs so they evolved into a wedding venue and left the cows behind.
"The price of milk for farmers is the same as years ago," Gillmore said. "A lot of farmers can't making a living any longer. [USMCA] would definitely benefit farmers in our area. It's really the backbone of America. They're feeding our kids, our families. It's sad to see the suffering going on for farmers here."
Pence touched on the focus for USCMA and how it would impact farms like Gillmore's former dairy production.
"Being here in the Badger State, we had to work out an arrangement on dairy with Canada," Pence said. "I'll tell you, this president stood strong and fought hard for dairy and got a win in the USMCA."
The USMCA was signed last year by President Donald Trump. However, Pence says it's up to the Democrats now to get it done. He urged his supporters to reach out to elected officials about getting it done.
"This is an incredible opportunity before us," Pence said. "Sitting on the desk of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the largest trade deal in American History. Call every Democrat from Wisconsin and say, I ran into Mike Pence and he said Wisconsin needs the USMCA. We need to get it done."
However, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin held a press conference earlier in the day to say this deal leaves Wisconsin behind.
"In 2016, they promised they'd bring manufacturing jobs back," Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin said. "Instead, we've been losing manufacturing jobs. They promised they were going to help families afford their cost of living. Instead, health care prices are still through the roof, drug prices are shooting up and their trade war is putting family farms out of business. All of the local businesses that rely on support from family farms, they've been a disaster for Wisconsin. Mike Pence coming here is putting a bandaid on a gaping wound."
"You can't have fair trade when workers in Mexico are making two dollars an hour," John Drew, Vice Chair of the UAW in Wisconsin said. "The new law does nothing to raise labor standards, enforce standards in Mexico and it really, at heart, does nothing to prevent American jobs from going to Mexico."
Pence says he wants the deal to be passed by the end of the year. In a panel discussion before the Vice President arrived, Rep. Glenn Grothmann predicted the USMCA would pass in the next two months.
The vice president was supposed to visit Pleasant Prairie on Oct. 17, but the event was rescheduled due to Pence's trip to Turkey.