How Will The U.S. House Impeachment Inquiry Affect The USMCA?

The leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives last week began a formal impeachment inquiry concerning President Donald Trump. Despite rising hostilities between Democrats in Congress and the White House surrounding the inquiry, both parties pledged to move forward with work on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In fact, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) both insisted that work continued even last week and both expressed a shared commitment to finding a path toward the agreement’s approval.

Speaking last Wednesday, Lighthizer hailed the merits of the agreement, arguing “This should be a bipartisan bill. It should be something where there are wins for the president and there are wins for the Speaker and for the Democrats.”

During her weekly press conference Speaker Pelosi said, “In case anybody is interested, we’re moving ahead on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement” and House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) last week told the Democratic caucus to “proceed with optimism” surrounding the agreement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also said they would like to proceed quickly forward with the agreement.

The Metals Service Center Institute supports the USMCA and has agreed to sign a letter with the USMCA Coalition urging lawmakers to support the deal. Individual companies also have been asked to sign onto the letter and can do so by clicking here. MSCI members are welcome to add your company or organization’s name to the letter by Friday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. EDT, and to share it with other organizations that might be interested in signing.

Click here to watch a new U.S. Chamber of Commerce video about the agreement and click here to read MSCI’s 2017 comments on NAFTA modernization.