The next step has been taken in the House of Representatives as Speaker Nancy Pelosi greenlighted the articles of impeachment against President Trump. Could the United States ? Mexico ? Canada Agreement (USMCA) be a victim in the political battle?
There had been high hopes we could see the USMCA still get worked through Congress by the end of the legislative year. However, those hopes may have been dashed. American Farm Bureau?s Executive Director Dale Moore says he was even optimistic the House?s attention was being turned to the trade pact.
There have been months of ongoing negotiations with House Democrats and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer. Many concerns had been addressed, but House Democrats are making more conditions on a trade pact which cannot be changed. This has even sparked concerns in Mexico where the deal has already been ratified.
Another factor to consider is if the President is impeached, there will be a trial in the Senate. This means all Senate business comes to a halt while the trial happens. This concern has been raised by USMCA supporters many times. Some even wonder if Speaker Pelosi?s plans were to pass the trade pact to shore up moderate, fence line voters before the 2020 election, only if she could politically stall it in the Senate and avoid giving President Trump a win. Moore says there is likely a ?political calculus? to all of this, but nobody really knows to what extent.
This past Thursday was the first press conference in many weeks where Speaker Pelosi made no mention of USMCA. This is less than a month removed from when she said a deal was ?imminent.?
