Senate OKs new North American trade deal with Canada, Mexico

WASHINGTON — The Senate approved a sweeping economic pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico on Thursday, delivering on President Donald Trump’s promise of a new and better North American trade deal just ahead of his impeachment trial.

What happened

The vote was 89-10 as an overwhelming majority of senators of both parties supported the agreement, as expected. Last month, the House of Representatives approved the revised agreement by a similarly wide margin, after months of negotiations between Democrats and the White House produced pro-labor revisions and jettisoned drug exclusivity language sought by the pharmaceutical industry.

The AFL-CIO was closely involved in negotiating the changes and backed the agreement, along with some other major unions.

Speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called passage of the deal “a major win for Kentucky and all 50 states. A major win for our country. A major win for the Trump administration.”

Why it matters

Passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement hands Trump a key victory at a moment of political peril, with the Senate starting his impeachment trial Thursday. Trump made his opposition to the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement a centerpiece of his campaign for president in 2016. He can now boast of delivering a new trade deal that includes major new protections for American workers, even though many of those were negotiated by House Democrats over the objection of Senate Republicans.

Senate Republicans had little influence in the process because Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., held a make-or-break role in deciding whether to bring the deal up on the floor of the House, which by law had to act first on the agreement.

Finance Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said they had no choice but to support the deal that was before them. They called it good news for the U.S. economy and workers, pointing to initial projections from the International Trade Commission that it will add 176,000 U.S. jobs — although that amounts to an increase of just 0.12, a modest impact on the nearly $21 trillion U.S. economy.

What’s next

Trump must still sign the bill, something he suggested he would likely do next week.

NEW YORK TIMES Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Thursday the approval of President Trump’s revised North American trade agreement was a major win for the administration.