MEXICO CITY, May 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexico’s government will send the trade deal known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to the Senate to carry out the process of ratification, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said.
Speaking at his morning news conference, Lopez Obrador said he expected the Senate, which is controlled by his National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) and its allies, to ratify USMCA once it had passed through the necessary committees.
Ratification of the accord, which was brokered last year to replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), would boost investment and help create well-paid jobs, he said.
“There is collective spirit in favor of approving the accord,” Lopez Obrador told his regular morning news conference.
Mexico’s announcement comes a day after Canada moved to ratify USCMA by formally presenting it to parliament on Wednesday ahead of a visit by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
The Mexican Senate is not currently in session, but the government said special periods would be held to pass USMCA.
Lopez Obrador said he was “optimistic” the trade deal, which U.S. President Donald Trump had pushed for, would be approved in the U.S. Congress. The Mexican president said he did not expect major difficulties to arise in its U.S. passage. — NNN-AGENCIES
