For both Donald Trump and his Democratic foes, the revised plan counts as a win
UNION LEADERS and Democratic lawmakers were cool at first on the USMCA, a replacement for the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement that was signed by American, Canadian and Mexican trade negotiators over a year ago. But on December 10th, after months of further talks, they swung behind a reworked version. Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, America’s largest trade-union group, proclaimed a “new standard for future trade negotiations”.
But both the politics and the content of the deal have led to unexpected alliances. Supporting the USMCA lets Democrats claim that they are not obstructing Mr Trump’s agenda for the sake of it. And on trade, Mr Trump has more in common with the left wing of the Democratic Party than with his own Republicans. Many Democrats agree that previous deals made trade too free, with too few of the benefits going to American workers.
Enforcement has been beefed up. Improvements to NAFTA’s dispute-settlement system are “probably the most important thing in the whole treaty”, says Jesús Seade, Mexico’s chief negotiator. Under NAFTA, countries could block the appointment of arbiters to hear awkward disputes. According to negotiators from all three countries, this is no longer possible.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Amid impeachment, House Democrats strike deal with White House on modified USMCA trade agreementJust minutes after announcing two articles of impeachment against Pres. Trump, House Democrats announce deal with the White House on moving forward with a modified trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Read more »
House Democrats and the White House have a deal to move forward with USMCA trade agreement“There is no question, of course, that this trade agreement is much better than NAFTA. But in terms of our work here, it is infinitely better than what was proposed by the administration,” House Speaker Pelosi said yesterday about revisions to the USMCA.
Read more »
Trump nears USMCA compromise with DemocratsThe Trump administration is edging closer to a compromise with House Democrats and labor officials over changes to its North American trade agreement, clearing the way for a deal to be announced as soon as late Monday
Read more »
Factbox: House Democrats back USMCA - What happens next?U.S. House Democrats on Tuesday backed a renegotiated version of the U.S.-Mexico...
Read more »
'There's a deal:' Mexico says USMCA trade pact to be signed TuesdayCanada, Mexico and the United States have reached an agreement on a new North Am...
Read more »
AFL-CIO labor union endorses USMCA trade dealThe major AFL-CIO labor union on Tuesday said it was endorsing the U.S.-Mexico-C...
Read more »