The U.S. signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement Wednesday clears another hurdle towards implementation of the agreement.
Following the signing ceremony, the U.S. and Mexico await approval by Canada, whose government is beginning the process this week.
Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland introduced a motion in the nation’s House of Commons to consider the agreement.
USMCA replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement. Freeland and Canada call the trade pact either the CUSMA, putting Canada first, or “the new NAFTA.”
Freeland asked Canadian lawmakers to “work together to put Canada and Canadians first, and get this important work done without undue delay.”
Freeland noted during a press conference the trade agreement received bipartisan support in the U.S. in a “highly polarized” political climate.
USMCA, welcomed by U.S. agriculture, protects critical markets for U.S. farmers, and provides an additional $2 billion in agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico, the top trading partners of the United States.
