IABRN — The U.S. Senate will take its first look at the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Tuesday if the House sends the implementing legislation to the Senate. Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley announced the hearing after the House passed the agreement, along with articles of impeachment, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose to hold the articles of impeachment, rather than sending them on to the Senate. However, the hearing is still not on the official calendar for the committee.
The hearing, if held, would be the first step in getting the trade deal passed by the Senate. Progress will depend on the impeachment hearings. Previously, Senate leadership expected the impeachment hearings to take up to a month, leaving little room at the end of January or early February for USMCA passage. If the impeachment hearings are delayed by a few weeks, the Senate could consider and pass the USMCA implementing legislation before the hearings. The House approved the agreement by a 385-41 vote on December 19.
This article originally appeared on the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network
