Updated NAFTA

Trump, House Democrats strike deal on updated NAFTA, setting stage for a vote

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats have reached a deal with the Trump administration.

By MEGAN CASSELLA and SABRINA RODRIGUEZ

Democrats handed President Donald Trump a political win Tuesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement that Democrats have reached a deal with the administration on the new North American trade agreement.

The deal coincides with House Democrats unveiling two articles of impeachment against the president, and edges Trump closer to victory on a signature 2016 campaign promise with the trade deal.

Trump applauded the progress on the agreement, saying it would be "the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA" and predicted broad Democratic support.

The deal on the trade pact gives moderate Democrats a win to tout at home.

News of the deal indicates that congressional Democrats, who have been negotiating changes with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, are now largely satisfied with the deal's labor, environmental, enforcement and drug pricing provisions. Lighthizer and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland will sign the revised deal in Mexico City on Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s a victory for America’s workers," Pelosi said at a press conference announcing the deal. "It’s one we take great pride in advancing.”

The AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation, also came out in support of the agreement on Tuesday, marking the first time the influential group has endorsed a pact in nearly two decades.

Some of the top demands Democrats wanted for months appear to have made it into the final version of the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement, including a provision that allows American inspectors to enter Mexican factories to check for labor violations. Democrats also succeeded in pushing the Trump administration to remove a provision establishing a 10-year protection period for biologic drugs, which opponents say would allow drug companies to keep prices high.

The compromise clears the way for Congress to vote on the pact in the coming weeks, where it is expected to pass both chambers with broad support.

Democrats do have a window to vote for USMCA this year as the House Ways and Means Committee is expected to waive its time on mock-ups to send the deal straight to the floor for a vote.

Some senior Democrats speculated that a vote for USMCA could come Dec. 19, the day after the House is expected to vote on impeachment. Pelosi already has said she does not want impeachment to be the last thing members vote on before the holiday recess.

"This is a transformative agreement," said House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, who led negotiations with the Trump administration. "It's a template, I believe, for future agreements."