Rep. Cuellar: Congress on brink of new trade pact
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar on Monday predicted that Congress could come to an agreement this week on a “Nafta 2.0,” more than a year after the leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico agreed on a new North American Free Trade Agreement.
“We’re close,” Cuellar, D-Laredo, said, citing senior officials from Mexico and the U.S. to whom he has talked with in recent days. “It all depends on what Mexico is willing to accept.”
What Mexico is willing to accept took a turn Monday night when Mexico’s large business lobby, Business Coordinating Council, put out a statement slamming the new labor proposals by the United States, calling them “totally unacceptable.”
While Cuellar would likely be ready to vote now, in a news conference on Monday alongside U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, Gonzalez had some hesitations. He has called for a securing of the highway from Reynosa to Monterrey, a common route for trucks carrying produce to the United States. He reiterated that call on Monday.
Read more: https://www.themonitor.com/2019/12/03/rep-cuellar-congress-brink-new-trade-pact/
(McAllen Monitor)