The Senate on Thursday passed President Donald Trump’s United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The vote was 89-10. A change from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the USMCA is a bipartisan trade agreement that proponents think could benefit America’s farmers, ranchers, businesses, and workers. The White House and Congress worked out deals and it passed the House on Dec. 20.
In December, House Democrats generally praised Trump’s USMCA just moments after announcing articles of impeachment against the president. (RELATED: ‘Ludicrous Optics’: House Democrats Praise Trump’s USMCA Trade Deal As They Unveil Their Effort To Impeach Him)
“It is infinitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said about Trump’s trade deal just an hour after introducing articles of impeachment against him. “It’s a victory for American workers, and it’s one that we take great pride in advancing.”
Once approved by Congress, the USMCA is supposed to help longstanding trade problems by giving American businesses more freedom to sell their goods and services throughout North America.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi while joined by Vice President Mike Pence before delivering the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol Building on February 5, 2019 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in September to discuss the future of the USMCA and told the Daily Caller that “Lighthizer sounded upbeat about the future of the USMCA, and for good reason: he and the White House worked tirelessly to strike a trade deal with Mexico and Canada that would benefit all Americans, from manufacturers in Michigan to wine producers in California.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: RNC Drops 6 Figures On Ad Buy For USMCA)
McCarthy also said that Mexico has already ratified the USMCA and Canada is also ready to move forward. McCarthy then called on Congress to act, adding that he was confident House Republicans would vote to pass the legislation if brought to the floor. He also claimed that passing the USMCA would add nearly 180,000 jobs and increase the country’s GDP by $68.2 billion. (RELATED: Here Is What Senators Are Saying About The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Future)
Republican senators had been continuing to advocate that the House pass the USMCA so that the Senate can vote on it. Every Republican senator the Daily Caller spoke with in November said the USMCA needs to be passed, with many mentioning Democrats’ apparent continued focus on impeachment instead of passing legislation.
The House passed the USMCA with a vote of 385-41.
The USMCA now will go to Trump’s desk for a signature.