Mexico approves USMCA trade deal
June 20, 2019
Mexico approved a new free trade agreement with the United States and Canada on Wednesday after the country's Senate voted 114-4 in favor of the proposed deal.
The landslide result for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) means Mexico is the first of the three countries to earn legislative approval.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador described the outcome as "very good news."
"It means foreign investment in Mexico, it means jobs in Mexico, it means guaranteeing trade of the merchandise that we produce in the United States," the 65-year-old enthused.
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The deal has yet to be considered by politicians in the United States and Canada, and President Donald Trump said the US needs to follow Mexico's lead.
"Congratulations to President Lopez Obrador — Mexico voted to ratify the USMCA today by a huge margin. Time for Congress to do the same here!" Trump tweeted.
The United States is Mexico's biggest export market.
The overwhelming endorsement of the new trade agreement follows threats from Trump to place tariffs on all Mexican goods if Lopez Obrador did not act to stop migrants from Central America attempting to enter the US illegally.
jsi/se (AP, Reuters)
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