House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) looks down from a balcony during an interview with CNBC at the New York Stock Exchange, September 17, 2019.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
House Democrats have come “within range” of reaching a North American trade agreement they can support, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday.
“Now, we need to see our progress in writing from the [Office of the U.S.] Trade Representative for final review,” the California Democrat said in a statement.
Democrats have negotiated for months with the Trump administration on changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the White House’s replacement for NAFTA.
Seeking a win as Trump’s trade conflicts shake the global economy, the president and congressional Republicans have pushed for Pelosi to bring up a vote to ratify the deal by the end of the year.
On Monday, the House speaker said the version of USMCA the three countries crafted last year “still left American workers exposed to losing their jobs to Mexico, included unacceptable provisions to lock in high prescription drug prices, and fell short of key environmental standards.” She contended it also lacked “concrete, effective enforcement mechanisms.”
Even so, Pelosi has repeatedly said Democrats have moved closer to striking a final agreement. Earlier in the day, Trump argued Pelosi was “incapable of moving” the agreement through the House. He also claimed Canada and Mexico could soon pull out of USMCA — though neither country has indicated it would. Mexico has ratified the deal but Canada has not. The countries are the two largest American export markets.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that his government would send a letter to Pelosi this week urging Congress to approve USMCA.
