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Pelosi Announces Support for New North American Trade Deal

VOA News

   U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed a modified North American
   trade pact Tuesday, declaring it is a significant improvement over the
   original North American Free Trade Agreement and over the first
   proposal from the White House.

   "There is no question, of course, that this trade agreement is much
   better than NAFTA," Pelosi said at a Capitol Hill news conference
   announcing the deal. "It is infinitely better than what was initially
   proposed by the administration."

   The agreement was made possible after congressional Democrats and the
   White House agreed on final terms, ending more than two years of talks
   that also included Canada and Mexico.

   Pelosi and many other Democrats have long lambasted the original NAFTA
   accord, particularly the extensive trade-related job losses in the U.S.
   manufacturing sector.

   U.S. President Donald Trump noted on Twitter Tuesday his trade pact
   apparently received "very good Democrat" support and that the agreement
   "will be the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA."

     Looking like very good Democrat support for USMCA. That would be
     great for our Country!
     -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [1]December 10, 2019

   "Importantly," Trump continued, "we will finally end our Country's
   worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!"

   As Republican leaders and lawmakers pushed Pelosi on the issue for
   months, Pelosi held extensive talks with the Trump administration to
   win stronger enforcement provisions, an apparently successful effort to
   win Democratic support.

   She also painstakingly worked to get the support of labor, including an
   endorsement from the AFL-CIO, which is critical to getting
   congressional approval.

   "For the first time, there truly will be enforceable labor standards,"
   including a process allowing for inspections of factories, said AFL-CIO
   President Richard Trumka.

   Weeks of negotiations, closely watched by Democratic labor allies,
   bought lawmakers and administration officials together.

   The deal represents a significant victory for Trump who campaigned for
   the presidency on a promise to renegotiate or abolish NAFTA.

   When a reporter asked at the news conference why she would give Trump a
   political victory, Pelosi responded, "We are declaring victory for the
   American worker."

   NAFTA killed most tariffs and other trade barriers involving the U.S.,
   Canada and Mexico.

   The original NAFTA divided Democrats, but the new United
   States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is more protectionist and
   labor-friendly, indicating it may be more palatable to the Democratic
   Party.

   An unlikely coalition of critics consisting of Trump, labor unions and
   many Democratic legislators considered NAFTA a job killer for the U.S.
   because it encouraged U.S. factories to relocate to Mexico to
   capitalize on the country's low-wage workers.

   The proposed USMCA deal contains provisions designed to lure
   manufacturers back to the U.S.

   It also includes updated labor regulations and more stringent
   enforcement provisions to hold Mexican companies more accountable on
   labor.

   Officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico met in Mexico Tuesday to
   discuss the new deal.

   It requires U.S. congressional approval before it is ratified.

   Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar, whose district in Texas is near
   the U.S.-Mexico border, said Tuesday the House is planning to vote on
   the deal next week.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1204409386535473158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw