Mexican President AMLO to Nancy Pelosi: Pass USMCA Already!

Obrador checks watch (Pedro Pardo / AFP / Getty)
Pedro Pardo / AFP / Getty

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Friday to pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which awaits a vote in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

President Donald Trump announced the USMCA one year ago, after extensive negotiations with both Canada and Mexico. The trade deal will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Trump has long criticized and which he promised to replace. The new deal includes terms more favorable to U.S. businesses and workers, and is one of the most significant economic and foreign policy achievements of the Trump presidency.

While Democrats have spoken favorably about the USMCA, they have also suggested changes to the agreement. They are also reluctant to acknowledge Trump’s success and to approve anything for which he will later take credit.

Obrador, known also by the acronym AMLO, told reporters Friday that he had sent a letter to Pelosi urging her to pass the USMCA. “There’s agreement, and I took the opportunity to send Mrs Pelosi a letter explaining that it’s in the interest of the three peoples, the three nations, that this deal is approved,” he said, according to The Hill.

Republicans also pressed the House Speaker to stop stalling. When Pelosi posted a subtweet — a tweet that attacks someone without using their Twitter handle — targeting Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Ernst fired back about the USMCA:

A poll in February showed that Americans wanted Congress to pass the USMCA “by a nearly four-to-one margin.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.