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Deal reportedly reached on USMCA

A tentative deal has reportedly been reached on the U.S./Mexico/Canada agreement. CNBC says that if the White House sends ratification language to Congress by December 15th, a vote could happen as soon as the 18th, with Congress adjourning for the year on the 20th. Congress officially has 90 days to vote on the legislation after the bill is introduced.

The advancement of the trade agreement was a question mark because of the ongoing impeachment hearings in the U.S. House of Representatives, but supporters of the deal had renewed their push in recent weeks, trying to get the legislation ratified ahead of the 2020 election.

At the Illinois Farm Bureau annual meeting, Deputy Ag Secretary Stephen Censky was optimistic, “I think the USMCA agreement is extremely close. I think we’re just waiting for that final approval by the U.S. House of Representatives. And I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful.”

Speaking to reporters Monday, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue said he believes progress has been made on enforceability, “I know Ambassador Lighthizer was working very hard, had the Mexicans in last week, and hopefully, we’ve got some resolution between what the enforceability provisions that had been wanted by some and Mexico.”

Perdue said it’s critical that the agreement is ratified soon because it would send a negative signal to other countries if we didn’t secure a deal with Canada and Mexico.

If passed by Congress and signed by President Trump, the USMCA would replace NAFTA as the comprehensive trade agreement with two of the biggest U.S. trading partners. The deal would also have to be ratified by Canada and Mexico.