WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st May, 2019) US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer informed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a letter that President Donald Trump's administration has submitted to Congress a draft measure to implement the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
"The administration is hereby submitting with this letter a draft Statement of Administrative Action (SAA) to implement the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and a copy of the final legal text as it now stands," Lighthizer said in the letter on Thursday.
Lighthizer said the submission of the draft SAA does not formally start the countdown to a vote on the USMCA, but is a procedural formality required by the Trade Promotional Authority (TPA). This step, the Trade Representative added, provides Congress with sufficient time to consider the deal before the August recess.
The TPA includes the so-called fast-track authority which allows an administration to force a vote on a trade agreement without Congress being able to amend it. President Barack Obama used this authority to get the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) through Congress, although Trump would later withdraw the United States from the deal.
Lighthizer added that the administration believes the new trade agreement will gain broad bipartisan support in Congress.
The USMCA, which will replace the 1994 NAFTA trade deal, covers auto and agricultural tariffs, intellectual property rights, labor standards, and environmental protections, among other issues. The agreement must be ratified by the legislatures or parliament in each of the countries in order to take effect.
