US Chamber of Commerce Expects USMCA Passage by August

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce expects the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to pass before Congress’ August recess, two Chamber of Commerce officials said, saying Democrats’ issues with the bill are “bridgeable.” “We do think that we can see USMCA move forward before the August break,” said John Murphy, the Chamber’s senior vice president for international policy. “We want to get on with it. We need the certainty that USMCA will provide.”

Murphy, speaking on a June 17 conference call with reporters alongside Chamber Vice President Neil Bradley, added that the Chamber of Commerce expects Mexico’s Senate to ratify the agreement this week and noted that Canada has expressed willingness to pass it this summer. “There’s no reason the U.S. can’t get it done before Labor Day,” Bradley said. “Nothing is guaranteed, but there's a pathway to get this done.”

Democrats have recently shown increased willingness to pass the deal, Murphy and Bradley said, but their biggest concerns still lie with the agreement’s enforcement provisions, drug pricing, labor conditions and environmental impacts. But the two think the two sides are getting close. “Based on my conversations with Democrats on the Hill, this is something they know they have to deal with,” Bradley said. “It’s something they’re intent on moving forward on.”

The talks have moved into “closed-door discussions” to address concerns raised by the Democrats, the officials said. “I don’t know that we’ll see much more in the public eye,” Murphy said, saying both he and Bradley are confident a deal is upcoming. “Probably not everybody is going to get everything they want. That’s the nature of policymaking in Washington and in democracies,” Murphy said. “But I’m optimistic that these gaps are bridgeable.”