(NAFB) — The House of Representatives could vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement as early as this week or the next. According to Farm Journal’s AgWeb.com, Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson (MN) appeared on the “D.C. Signal to Noise Podcast” recently and said Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to get USMCA approval “on the fast track.”
Peterson says USMCA Working Group Chair Richard Neal will try to move the legislation forward either this week or the next. “He’s pushing hard,” Peterson says. “It’s going to get done. The question is whether it will be done during the next two weeks or sometime in December.”
While on a caucus conference call last week, Peterson says Pelosi talked about the push to pass USMCA. “She wouldn’t be doing that if she didn’t want this to get done,” Peterson explained. “So, this is going to get done.”
The USMCA Working Group has been meeting regularly with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to negotiate the changes needed to get votes from both sides of the political fence. The House Ag Chair says he anticipates that work will clear the way for rapid approval from all three countries.
Source: National Association of Farm Broadcasters