Trade Cases

USMCA Submission to Congress Likely After Sept. 1

July 11, 2019

The final draft of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is not likely to be submitted to Congress until after Sept. 1, setting up possible ratification by the end of the year. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is waiting until House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assures him there are enough votes to pass the agreement in the House. Once the agreement is submitted, Congress has 90 working days to hold a vote.

“Lighthizer has said that we will submit formal legislation when [Pelosi] gives a green light on the vote,” said National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow on Tuesday. “So, the two of them are working rather well together, and I think the outcome’s going to be extremely positive.”

Whitehouse advisors have cautioned President Trump not to submit the final draft until Speaker Pelosi is ready, despite Trump’s protestations that the delay is too long and that Congress is a “do-nothing” entity.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said once the agreement is sent to the Senate from the House, “we can quickly pass it.”

Democrats are still concerned about labor provisions, environmental standards, pharmaceuticals and enforcement–problems a coalition appointed by Pelosi are working to resolve.

Ratification of USMCA before the election season begins would be a victory for Trump’s re-election efforts. Having a new North American deal to extol on the campaign trail would give some credibility to his claims of being a master trade negotiator.

Following the lifting of Section 232 tariffs, Mexican lawmakers ratified the agreement. Canada said it will wait to do so until the U.S. is ready.