USMCA Inches Forward in Congress, but Time May Be Running Short – JD Supra

With just weeks remaining on the 2019 congressional calendar, a potential House vote on legislation to implement the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) remains in doubt. Negotiations between House Democrats and the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on possible changes to the USMCA remain incomplete, despite weeks of additional talks following an initial exchange of written proposals and counter-proposals in September 2019. Moreover, if the two sides are able to reach agreement in the coming weeks, other procedural hurdles likely will need to be overcome before the House would vote on a USMCA bill, raising the potential for further delays. Opposition from key Democratic constituencies, most notably organized labor, and several Democratic presidential candidates may also have reduced the political incentive for House Democratic leadership to come to an agreement with USTR and to support the final deal. Given the limited time remaining on the 2019 congressional calendar, and the possibility that the presidential election will deter consideration of the Agreement in 2020, there is a significant chance that the USMCA will not be implemented in the near-term. This alert summarizes recent developments regarding the USMCA and the potential obstacles that remain.