Pelosi announces agreement on North American trade pact
Washington DC: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday announced agreement on a modified North American trade pact, handing President Donald Trump a major Capitol Hill win on the same day that Democrats announced their impeachment charges against him.
The California Democrat said the revamped US-Mexico-Canada Agreement is a significant improvement over the original North American Free Trade Agreement, crediting Democratic negotiators for winning stronger provisions on enforcing the agreement.
"There is no question of course that this trade agreement is much better than NAFTA," Pelosi said in announcing the agreement. She said the pact is "infinitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration."
Trump said the revamped trade pact will be great" for the United States.
It will be the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA. Good for everybody - Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions - tremendous support.
Importantly, we will finally end our Country's worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!, the president said in a tweet.
In Mexico City, Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said on Monday night that there would be a meeting of the three countries' negotiating teams Tuesday to announce the advances achieved on the trade agreement. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is slated to appear.
The announcement came on the same morning that Democrats outlined impeachment charges against Trump. The pact is Trump's top Capitol Hill priority along with funding for his long-sought border fence.
Pelosi is the key congressional force behind the accord, which updates the 25-year-old NAFTA accord, which many Democrats especially from manufacturing areas hit hard by trade-related job losses have long lambasted.
She has negotiated with the administration extensively to win stronger enforcement provisions. Her efforts have appeared to build support among Democrats There are those who I read about in one place or another that say, 'why would you give President Trump a victory?'"
Pelosi said Monday night at a Wall Street Journal event for corporate executives.
"Well, why wouldn't we? This is the right thing to do for our trade situation, for our workers."
