House Not Ready To Vote On US-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal Before Year End - Pelosi

Additional negotiations with Mexico and Canada will be needed to revise the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal (USMCA) with tougher enforcement mechanisms, making it doubtful whether the House of Representatives can vote on legislation enacting the agreement before the end of the year, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during a press conference on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2019) Additional negotiations with Mexico and Canada will be needed to revise the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal (USMCA) with tougher enforcement mechanisms, making it doubtful whether the House of Representatives can vote on legislation enacting the agreement before the end of the year, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during a press conference on Thursday.

"We have a responsibility to drastically improve the situation, that is to say, make it [USMCA] real, not just NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] with sugar on top, but to change the fundamentals of it so that we have enforceability," Pelosi told reporters.

In response to a reporter's question whether the House of Representatives could vote before the New Year, Pelosi said, "I'm not even sure if we came to an agreement today that it would be enough time to finish."

Pelosi was referring to negotiations with the Trump administration, but she noted that additional negotiations would be needed with Canada and Mexico to revise legislation needed to implement the USMCA agreement.

Stronger enforcement provisions are needed, particularly in regard to labor, environmental and pharmaceutical issues, Pelosi said.