Senate overwhelmingly approves USMCA trade deal in bipartisan vote
Washington — The Senate overwhelmingly approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement in a bipartisan vote on Thursday, handing President Trump a legislative victory just before the Senate began pre-trial proceedings for his upcoming impeachment trial.
The deal, more commonly known as USMCA, passed by 89-10, and now goes to Mr. Trump's desk for a signature. The deal replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, and was approved by the House in December after months of negotiations between House Democrats and the Trump administration. Mr. Trump made repealing NAFTA a signature promise of his campaign.
The deal includes provisions to tighten rules for making and selling cars, improve access to markets for farmers, mandate inspections of factories for labor violations and establish new digital trade rules.
The agreement was approved in the Senate the day after Mr. Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a long-awaited "Phase One" trade deal. The Senate Finance Committee overwhelmingly approved USMCA earlier in January.
Passage of USMCA has coincided in timing with developments in the impeachment process. The House approved USMCA just a day after voting to impeach Mr. Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate passed USMCA just hours before beginning pre-trial impeachment proceedings.