Stanton urges House to focus on USMCA

With only a few legislative days remaining for the United States House of Representatives in 2019, Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., is urging his colleagues to focus on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in the waning days of the year.

Stanton took to the House floor Wednesday to deliver a speech extolling the virtues of cross-border trade and its positive impact on Arizona.

“Simply put, trade with our North American allies is essential to Arizona’s economy,” Stanton said. “Now, we have a real opportunity to improve these relationships through USMCA.”

Stanton spoke of his time as mayor of Phoenix, which saw him lead 18 trade missions to Mexico and Canada.

Stanton’s positive remarks about trade come as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expresses skepticism about whether there is time left in 2019 for the House to act on a bill to adopt the new trade deal.

Politico reported Thursday that Pelosi told reporters, “I’m not even sure if we came to an agreement today that it would be enough time to finish [this year], but just depends on how much agreement we come to.”

Stanton, a freshman Democrat, has been one of his party’s most vocal proponents of USMCA’s passage.

He and 13 Democratic colleagues sent Pelosi a letter in July asking her to bring USMCA to a vote this year. In August, Stanton and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey held a tele-town hall discussion during which they touted their support for the new trade agreement.