Senate committee approves USMCA trade deal, timing of full Senate vote uncertain
Revamped North American trade deal moves a step closer to a final Senate vote in the coming days or weeks
Harvard University professor and former IMF chief economist Kenneth Rogoff discusses the impact on the economy of passing the USMCA, how geopolitical events could affect the U.S. economy and policy uncertainty given the 2020 Democratic field.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement moved closer to a final vote in the Senate, with the Senate Finance Committee advancing the legislation Tuesday in a 25-3 vote.
The timing of a vote in the full Senate is uncertain, however. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said a vote will come after an impeachment trial, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not yet sent the two articles of impeachment to the Senate.
Republicans Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, with Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, voted against the updated North American trade deal.
"This modernized trilateral trade agreement will open new markets for American exporters, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, grow the national economy and protect U.S. workers," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement.
USMCA is expected to create around 176,000 new jobs and inject $34 billion into the U.S. auto industry, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo last month, citing International Trade Commission data. He added that as many as 589,000 new jobs could be created within five years.
Farvahar Partners founder and CEO Omeed Malik reflects on the big market wins of 2019.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it will add 0.5 percent to U.S. GDP, at least.
Mexico and Canada are the two largest trading partners with the U.S.
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"This new NAFTA delivers long-overdue upgrades to labor standards, the environment and digital trade, while providing certainty to farmers and manufacturers who have been hammered in recent years," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said.
It requires 75 percent of automobile components be manufactured in the United States, Canada and Mexico in order to avoid tariffs, and that 40 to 45 percent of automobile parts be made by workers who earn at least $16 an hour by 2023.
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It further opens Canadian markets to U.S. dairy and poultry, a win for American farmers, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has called the deal "absolute gold standard on digital trade and financial services."
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FOX Business' Evie Fordham contributed to this report.