TAYLOR, MI -- Vice President Mike Pence said a new North American trade treaty is “absolutely essential” to keep Michigan automotive manufacturers competitive.

Pence visited Michigan Wednesday as part of an effort to convince Congress to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Pence said would “level the playing field” for American workers and manufacturers and bring billions of dollars in new investment. Pence made several stops in Southeast Michigan Wednesday, fundraising for the president’s re-election campaign and addressing auto industry stakeholders at a public event in Taylor.

Michigan was Pence’s first stop on a nation-wide tour to gather support for the USMCA, which would replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. The vice president said Trump is delivering on his promises to support Michigan workers, and asked attendees in Taylor to contact their representatives in Congress.

“The truth is, we need to hear from Michigan,” Pence said. “We need to hear from the Motor City. We need to hear from the backbone of the American auto industry.”

Trump and leaders of Canada and Mexico signed the free trade agreement in 2018, but each country’s legislature must ratify the agreement. With Democrats in control of the U.S. House, the deal’s fate remains in doubt.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., indicated earlier this month that the House will not consider the new trade deal without tighter enforcement provisions. Pelosi is also seeking labor reforms in Mexico, which would ideally prevent companies from taking advantage of cheap labor.

Trump will meet with Pelosi next week. Pence said the USMCA needs to be ratified this year, but did not give a firm deadline.

The USMCA doesn’t go far enough to protect U.S. jobs, said American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations President Richard Trumka. In a statement published after Trump signed the agreement, Trumka said the deal is “nothing more than a rebranded corporate handout.”

Before Pence arrived in Taylor, auto industry leaders discussed the positive impacts of Trump’s new trade treaty. Executives at Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said the new North American trade deal is a critical piece of legislation for Michigan’s auto industry.

Lisa Drake, vice president of global purchasing and powertrain operations at Ford Motor Company, said the auto industry would be thrown into “chaos” without a modern trade deal.

“If it gets to a point where it becomes political, if we don’t have an agreement on the table, it’s devastating for us,” Drake said. “We are here to make sure the administration understands ... we really need a swift passage of the legislation.”

Trump has been a vocal opponent of NAFTA, blaming it for allowing corporations to offshore production facilities to Mexico at the cost of millions of American factory jobs. Re-negotiating NAFTA was among Trump’s top campaign promises in 2016 and featured heavily in his message to Michigan.

Pence touted economic growth under Trump, including record low unemployment for African-Americans and a booming stock market. Under Trump, 480,000 manufacturing jobs were created across America and 26,000 in Michigan, Pence said.

The vice president said the USMCA is needed to continue the momentum. Pence said the new treaty would create 76,000 jobs in the automotive sector.

“The American Dream is coming back,” Pence said.

The U.S. International Trade Commission found the USMCA would have an overall positive impact on trade, GDP and employment, according to an April 18 report.

The commission estimates that USMCA would add 176,000 jobs and increase American exports to Canada and Mexico by 6 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively. Production of automotive parts and employment in the automotive sector is expected to increase under the USMCA, according to the report.

A new trade deal is needed to keep American manufacturers competitive in the global marketplace, Drake said.

The new trade deal played a “key role” in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ recent decision to invest $4.5 billion in Michigan, said Head of NAFTA Purchasing and Supply Chain Scott Thiele.

Pence highlighted investments announced by Michigan’s big three automakers, crediting Trump for making good on a promise to rebuild the state’s manufacturing industry.

Ford Motor Company, Fiat Chrysler Automotive and General Motors each announced multi-million dollar investments within the last several months.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said if Trump had been in charge during the Great Recession instead of President Barack Obama, “places like Taylor and Dearborn would have been devastated.”

“Instead of taking credit for the achievements of the Obama Administration, Pence should explain to Michiganders why he and Donald Trump have spent their time in the White House attacking the interests of the working people they promised to help,” she said in a statement.

Pence said the president is “grateful every day" for Michigan’s support in 2016. Close wins in Democratic “blue wall states” like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania helped send Trump to the White House.

How and where vehicles and vehicle components are manufactured was a key component of trade negotiations between the U.S. and its neighbors. The USMCA added more stringent “rules of origin” requirements to ensure vehicles are built in North America.

Under NAFTA, Pence said companies can take advantage of loopholes to “buy parts from China, assemble them in Mexico and sell them in the United States, duty-free.”

The USMCA would require automobiles to have 75% of its components manufactured in one of the three countries to avoid tariffs, up from 62.5% under NAFTA.

The new deal also requires 70% of all steel, aluminum and glass used in the production to originate in North America. If ratified by Congress, the USMCA would require 40% to 45% of parts to be made by workers who earn at least $16 an hour.

Auto executives said aluminum and steel tariffs are harming their industry. Pence said those tariffs could be reconsidered if the USMCA is passed.

Pence was met at the Detroit Metro Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and attended a private fundraiser at the Detroit Athletic Club to raise money for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.

GREAT to be back in Michigan! Thank you for the warm welcome & THANK YOU to @CBP officials who proudly serve our country every day. I’m off to meet w/ auto manufacturers to talk about how @POTUS’ USMCA will benefit the auto industry & our economy as a whole! pic.twitter.com/YVqfi26i6T — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) April 24, 2019

The vice president toured a Ford Motor Company truck production plant in Dearborn, where he drove a white Ford F-150 off the production line.

Trade could factor into 2020

The deal could become a campaign issue in during the early stages of the 2020 election.

Trump called NAFTA one of the “worst trade deals in the history of the world" at a rally in downtown Grand Rapids on March 28.

“Your empty factories are still all over the place," Trump said. “They still haven’t recovered from NAFTA. Well NAFTA’s gonna be a thing of the past.”

Democratic presidential hopefuls have dedicated less time to trade in the early stages of the 2020 campaign.

According to a March analysis by the Peterson Institute of International Economics, few candidates have took a stance on the USMCA.

U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., strongly oppose free trade pacts like the USMCA and Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump withdrew the U.S. from in 2017.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, said he opposes the USMCA because it doesn’t go far enough to protect American jobs. Ryan decided to enter the race after General Motors announced it was closing five facilities in North America, including its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant in southeast Michigan.

At an April 13 rally in Macomb County, Sanders called on Trump to scrap the new USMCA, saying it would allow companies like General Motors to outsource auto jobs.

“For once in your life, keep your damn campaign promises," Sanders said. “Go back to the drawing board on NAFTA.”

Republican National Committee spokesperson Michael Joyce said Michiganders have a lot to celebrate under the Trump administration.

“Jobs and investment are coming back to Michigan thanks to President Trump and Vice President Pence, and their new trade deals like the USMCA will only further advance Michigan’s economy,” Joyce said.

Joyce said the Green New Deal, which proposes sweeping economic reforms to address climate change and income inequality, would put “thousands” of Michigan auto workers out of work. The nonbinding resolution is supported to varying degrees by several Democratic presidential candidates.

During an MSNBC town hall in Auburn Hills, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said the Green New Deal could keep auto jobs in the U.S. by offering economic incentives to companies that build energy-efficient vehicles.