Democrats still negotiating on USMCA enforcement: Pelosi
House speaker says she is 'hoping to come near to conclusion' on the trade deal
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats are still hammering out differences with the Trump administration on enforcement mechanisms in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Things have been looking up for the USMCA after Mexico and Canada signaled openness to House Democrats' demands over the past week. The two countries would have to approve any changes to the trade deal.
Passing USMCA is a priority for the Trump administration, which promised to buoy the U.S. economy by improving a variety of international trade deals, including replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement. Members of the administration accuse Pelosi of slow-walking the deal.
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Should Pelosi's faction get their addendum, a vote on the entire deal should follow.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California speaks during a press conference at the COP25 climate talks summit in Madrid, Monday Dec. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
"As I said earlier, though we are hoping to come near to conclusion on a US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement," Pelosi said in Madrid, the site of a UN climate conference. "We still have some issues that relate to enforcement because if you don't have enforcement you just have a nice conversation and a list of nice things, but you do not have a fair deal for workers in any of the countries."
"And that's what we want," she continued. "Not just a good deal for American workers but for all workers so that everyone can thrive. That has an impact on our economies on migration and international relations and again puts a better face on globalization which is inevitable, as we know."
Mexico ratified the deal in June, while Canada appears on track to ratify the deal in its new parliament.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listens to Mexican Undersecretary for North America Jesus Seade at the start of a meeting in West Block in Ottawa, Friday Nov. 29, 2019. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Mexico's Undersecretary to North America Jesus Seade met with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland about the deal last week.
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Seade seemed optimistic and discussed Pelosi's focus on workers' rights for all countries involved.
"Many of the issues raised by Democrats are very valid," Seade said. "Good things in terms of what they raised. At the same time after one extra year of reviewing the text, a lot of things are coming out. I think we are going to have instead of a very good agreement, an excellent one."
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