House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a deal has been made with the White House on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, promising a much better deal than what President Trump already presented to Congress.
President Trump calls it the best and most important trade deal ever made by this country.
However, Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw says Democrats sold out Americans by removing a 10-year patent protection for U.S.-made specialty drugs.
“When Canada and Mexico are allowed to copy & manufacture our new drugs, they no longer have to buy from the American company that spent billions in research and development,” says Crenshaw. “This increases prices for Americans because companies still have to make up their costs.”
Crenshaw went on to say this deal is too important to jeopardize.
“It will have an overall positive impact on TX-02, where trade with Mexico and Canada accounts for more than 30,000 jobs and billions of dollars in exports each year.
Still, others are eager to see if House Democrats caved to other demands by Mexico.
“Mexico has been very vocal in saying we're not going to allow U.S. federal inspectors to come in and inspect labor,” says Nelson Balido, president of the Border Commerce & Security Council.
Either way, he says a deal needs to be finalized before Congress breaks for the holidays.
“Yes it's a win for Trump, but really it's a win for everybody involved, so we can't be jealous of who came up with what,” says Balido. “We need to really buckle down and get this thing passed for the economic vitality and quality of life on both sides of the border.”
Balido says passing the USMCA also helps ease illegal crossings at our southern border.
“The more jobs we have south of the border, they don't come north of the border seeking them,” he says. “These are all things that need to happen now and hopefully it's a good Christmas present for everybody.”