NAFTA 2.0 is signed -- but it's far from finished
Fridays signing starts the clock on what could be a monthslong process to approve the deal in Congress.
By DOUG PALMER and MEGAN CASSELLA 11/30/2018 08:07 AM EST
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina North American leaders formally signed their new trade agreement Friday, marking the end of 15 months of contentious talks between the U.S., Canada and Mexico and the beginning of what could be months of fierce debate between the Trump administration and Congress.
The signing, which took place on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, shifts the onus onto each countrys legislatures to approve the agreement before it can actually take effect. And that could be a problem in the U.S., where some Democrats have already been opposing the labor and environmental provisions in the pact, now known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement or USMCA.
Despite a push by a handful of Republican senators to vote on the agreement during the lame-duck session, procedural hurdles make it almost certain there wont be a vote until sometime next year when Democrats are controlling the House. Thats jeopardizing President Donald Trumps chances of fulfilling what has been a signature pledge of his presidency.
Trump expressed confidence Friday that the pact would sail through Congress. "It's been so well-reviewed, I don't expect to have very much of a problem," he said as he stood onstage in a hotel conference room next to Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump called the trade deal a truly groundbreaking achievement" before the three leaders sat down at a table and signed it.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/30/usmca-signed-g20-999748