USMCA vote could come next week: Sources
Definitely by the end of the year, sources tell FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo
Congress could vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement as soon as next week, sources tell FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi suggested Monday that House Democrats and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are coming closer to an agreement to bring it to the floor.
The deal will "definitely" come up for a vote by the end of the year, the sources said.
“House Democrats have insisted that hard-working Americans need more from the USMCA than just the same broken NAFTA with better language but no real enforcement," Pelosi said. "We are within range of a substantially improved agreement for America’s workers. Now, we need to see our progress in writing from the Trade Representative for final review.”
US President Trump, Canada President Pierre Trudeau and then-Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto participate in the USMCA signing ceremony, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
A White House source said that movement on the deal could happen quickly, though a vote next week would be an "aggressive" timetable.
A House Democratic aide told FOX Business Wednesday that if an agreement were reached today, things would have to move quickly in order to have a floor vote on ratification next week.
PELOSI: USMCA DEAL IS 'WITHIN RANGE'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Any changes to the agreement would need to be approved by Canada and Mexico.
"We are encouraged by progress in the United States," a Canadian government official said, confirming conversations between Canadian and American trade officials this week.
President Trump has blamed Democrats in Congress for stalling the deal.
Trump told reporters at the White House Monday that the USMCA has been "sitting on Nancy Pelosi's desk."
"She's incapable of moving it, it looks like she can't – everybody knows it's a great deal, she knows it's a great deal, she said it," Trump said. "She keeps saying she wants to get it done, but we're talking about many, many months, sitting on her desk – no votes."
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The administration has emphasized how the agreement could benefit autoworkers with decreased costs and more production in the U.S. for materials and the immigration crisis by boosting job opportunities in Mexico.
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FOX Business' Blake Burman and Ed Lawrence contributed to this report.