On Wednesday, June 19, Mexico’s Senate ratified USMCA with a 114-4 vote. All three countries must ratify the trade agreement through their respective legislatures before it becomes official and goes into effect.
Meanwhile in the United States, many Democrats are holding up U.S. ratification until their demands that labor and environmental laws in Mexico be enforced are met. Democrats claim the language in the agreement does not provide enough accountability for those laws.
When asked about when Congress will get to vote on USMCA, U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer said that within the next couple of weeks substantial progress will be made. However, he gave no specific timeline regarding ratification.
Canada, for its part, will probably not vote until after the Federal election in October. The house rose yesterday until September but the return should be only to dissolve Parliament in preparation for the election campaign.
