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Rep. Don Beyer told Morning Trade that he hopes to use his position as a member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee to move the Democratic Party further in favor of free trade.

“Structurally, I would love to be part of moving our Democratic Party … to be a little more pro-trade,” said Beyer, a member of the New Democrats.

The Virginia lawmaker noted that only 28 Democrats voted in favor of trade promotion authority in 2015, and he believes that more Democrats could move to support free trade in the new Congress. However, he specified that he wouldn’t want to leave behind the more labor-friendly Democrats, saying it’s for the party to “all move together.”

Rosy outlook on USMCA: Beyer said that so far, he feels pleased with the outcome of the NAFTA negotiations. However, he cautioned that he hasn’t done a deep dive of the new agreement.

“To the extent that USMCA built some of the progress that was made in the [Trans-Pacific Partnership] negotiations, specifically on labor enforcement, environmental enforcement … that’s something to be celebrated,” he said.