U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials met in Washington Wednesday afternoon in a pre-Thanksgiving bid to push through the ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement.
The hastily scheduled talks included U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Jesus Seade, Mexico’s undersecretary for North America, according to a statement from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office.
The talks likely will involve changes to make the trade agreement palatable to congressional Democrats. On Nov. 26, Speaker Nancy Pelosi reported that an amended USMCA agreement was in sight.
“We are within range of a substantially improved agreement for America’s workers,” Pelosi said in a statement.
USMCA, which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), still needs to be ratified by the U.S. Congress as well as Canadian lawmakers. Mexico ratified the agreement in June.
The continued uncertainty over ratification has lingered over North American supply chains. Earlier this week, engine maker Cummins said it planned to shift more production to plants in Mexico to align with USMCA.
