President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that an impeachment inquiry against him could derail congressional approval of a North America trade pact, dragging down Mexico’s peso and stock market as investors fled riskier assets.
This story by Reuters appeared in Automotive News.
While U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he was confident the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) would come up for a vote and pass, Trump told him in front of reporters that he knows “these people” better, referring to Democrats.
Pelosi announced on Tuesday that Democrats in the House of Representatives had launched a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump, accusing him of seeking foreign help to smear Democratic rival Joe Biden ahead of next year’s election.
Canada, the U.S. and Mexico signed the agreement last year to replace the trillion-dollar North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and it must now be ratified.
Lighthizer later said he was confident USMCA would come up for a vote because it is an extremely good agreement and “if it did not pass it would be a catastrophe for our economy.”
He said the legislation should be modified to address Democrats’ concerns, including reservations about the enforceability of the labor and environment provisions.
