State Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, was in Washington. D.C., Wednesday to watch President Donald Trump sign a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico into law.

“What a thrill it was to be there on the White House lawn” watching the president sign the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Cuffe told the Daily Inter Lake in a phone interview. Cuffe was part of the Montana delegation alongside U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte.

“I’m so proud I was able to attend today,” Cuffe said. “It was special.”

He also received one of the pens Trump used to sign the deal into law.

“This gives us economic stability at many levels,” Cuffe said. “Fair and free trade leads to healthy economies at all levels. If I could say four words: ‘Thank you Donald Trump.’”

Mexico has already ratified the deal, and it is expected to pass quickly through the Canadian parliament. The deal is revamps the North American Free Trade Agreement that went into effect in 1994.

Cuffe said all industries with ties to Canada will benefit from the agreement. He pointed out wheat farmers as an example, as the deal fixes part of Canada’s grading system that left American growers at a competitive disadvantage when trying to send wheat to the north.

All American wheat would be graded as low-quality “feed wheat” regardless of its actual quality, Cuffe said. Now it will be graded to the same standard as Canadian wheat.

He also said the “dairy people” he had spoken to were happy with the deal, as it is expected to increase farmers’ access to Canadian markets.

“The better business is between the two, the better life is,” Cuffe said. “We did a lot of complaining about the tariffs over the last few years, but that’s what led to this deal.”

He added that “we were in bad deals.”

“I sometimes wonder, how does this president function ... with all the negativity” around him, Cuffe said. “Then he turns around and puts together a big trade agreement with Canada and one with China.”

When the Inter Lake spoke to Cuffe on Wednesday afternoon, he was on his way to observe the Trump impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate chamber, wanting “to be able to see this part of history.”

Cuffe highlighted the work he is continuing to do on the Columbia River Treaty. As president of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region – a nonprofit group that focuses on the economy and quality of life in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Western Canada – he is glad to see the treaty gaining traction at the highest levels of government.

The U.S. and Canada began negotiations to modernize the treaty in May 2018, according to the U.S. Department of State website. The key objectives of the new treaty include continued careful management of flood risk, ensuring a reliable and economical power supply and improving the surrounding ecosystems.

The Libby Dam, one of the treaty’s projects, is located in Cuffe’s legislative district.

Cuffe said he is happy to see that “Montana proposals are being considered at the highest levels of government.

“We are being seriously considered all the way to the top … it’s exciting,” he said.

Cuffe said he had a meeting planned with a representative from Washington state, followed by other meetings regarding aquatic invasive species.

Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or [email protected]