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Senate passage of USMCA could be delayed

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will send articles of impeachment to the Senate this week, which will likely delay action on the US Mexico Canada Agreement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has previously said the USMCA would have to wait until after the impeachment trial.

Ethan Lane, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), says he is optimistic there will be some forward movement on the USMCA.

“The constitution is pretty clear, this is foundational to the republic, so they’re going to have to set things aside and pick up that impeachment proceeding but our understanding is that they’re looking at way to continue regular business as well and certainly passing USMCA is going to be right at the top of that list,” he says.

He says the agreement is a win for US agriculture and is long-overdue.

“Let’s just wrap this up,” he says. “We could have done this a year ago and we’re right on the doorstep so let’s put it to bed and move on to other things.”  

Brownfield spoke to Lane at the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting.