Pence will visit farm near Fargo, steel plant in St. Paul on Thursday

The vice president is promoting the new free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

May 8, 2019 at 3:04AM
Vice President Mike Pence greeted attendees of the American Legion National Convention before speaking Thursday.
Vice President Mike Pence will visit Minnesota on Thursday to promote the new free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. File photo of Pence during a visit to the state last summer. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Washington – Vice President Mike Pence will visit Minnesota on Thursday to promote the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a White House official said.

The trade deal needs congressional approval in order to supplant the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that the three countries struck in 1994.

Pence is scheduled to visit R & J Johnson Farms in Glyndon, in Clay County near Fargo. He will tour the facility and talk to farmers about how the new trade deal would benefit farmers in Minnesota.

Pence is also scheduled to visit St. Paul and appear at Gerdau Ameristeel, a White House official said. The vice president will tour the steel mill and give a speech to employees.

The Trump administration has placed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum in the name of national security in order to shore up the U.S. steel industry.

Jim Spencer

about the writer

Jim Spencer

Washington Correspondent

Washington correspondent Jim Spencer examines the impact of federal politics and policy on Minnesota businesses, especially the medical technology, food distribution, farming, manufacturing, retail and health insurance industries.  

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