US Congress debating new trade agreement: NAFTA

The trade agreement that replaces NAFTA is far from a done deal.

The fate of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement or "USMCA" is now up to the three countries' legislatures.

Congress is expected to vote on the package next month, but Democrats are already saying they want to make sure some substantial changes to the deal.

If that happens, the deal may need to be renegotiation or scuttled altogether.

President Trump needs Congress to pass the USMCA before it can become official.

Texas Republican Congressman Will Hurd says he supports the deal, but getting his democratic colleagues on board may be difficult.

"This is the time for many of my friends on the Democrat side of the aisle to make a decision," said Congressman Hurd.

Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown says he's ready to make substantial changes to the deal once Congress gets its hands on it.

"If it were agreed to you would see more jobs leaving the United States for Mexico," said Sen. Brown. "You've got to raise wages in both countries and then you have real legitimate trade back and forth."

If that happens, Congressman Hurd says it could be back to square one, which could result in no deal.

"The time for rhetoric is over," said Congressman Hurd. "We need to be talking about how do we ensure that this agreement between our three countries continues to impact in a positive way."

Legislators in all three countries must approve the USMCA or NAFTA remains in place and President Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from NAFTA

Source: ABC