Senate won't take up trade deal until impeachment trial is over next year
by Susan Ferrechio
| December 10, 2019 04:03 PM
The Senate will not consider a critical trade deal among the United States, Canada, and Mexico until it completes President Trump’s impeachment trial next year.
“That will have to come up, in all likelihood, after the trial is finished in the Senate,†Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday.
The White House and Democrats were hoping for a vote this month on the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, or USMCA, which is an overhaul of the NAFTA trade deal that many lawmakers believe was flawed and hurt the U.S. economy.
House Democrats, who had been negotiating for tighter labor enforcement language, among other changes, announced Tuesday they reached a deal with the White House.
A Democratic leadership aide said the House could vote on the USMCA as soon as next week, but lawmakers generally seek time to review expansive trade agreements, and several Democrats told the Washington Examiner they had yet to look at the terms of the deal.
McConnell ended any hope of a 2019 finish.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/senate-wont-take-up-trade-deal-until-impeachment-trial-is-over-next-year
