Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced Tuesday that House Democrats have reached an agreement with the White House on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which clears the way for a final House vote.

It’s been more than a year since leaders of the three nations inked the agreement, which required ratification from Congress.

The USMCA is a revised version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). 

The Los Angeles Times reported that the two sides had resolved the last sticking points, monitoring of Mexican labor practices and compliance. The Times said the House will vote on the measure next week.

President Trump tweeted Tuesday that “America’s great USMCA Trade Bill is looking good. It will be the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA.”

Pelosi countered that “with the transformative changes we won, Democrats have achieved a #USMCA agreement that is infinitely better for American workers than what was originally proposed by the Trump administration.”

Colorado’s No. 1 and 2 trading partners are Canada and Mexico, respectively, with beef products the top agricultural exports to both nations. According to the US Trade Representative, Colorado exported $2.7 billion in goods to Canada and Mexico in 2018, topped by processed food exports, at $761 million. The total for all agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico is $1.7 billion.

Under the USMCA, Canada has agreed to eliminate its “discriminatory wheat grading system,” which will allow US growers to be more competitive. Colorado corn producers also will maintain their access to the Mexican market, and pork producers will continue their access to both Canada and Mexico under the USMCA. 

Canada agrees to terminate its discriminatory wheat grading system, enabling U.S. growers along the border to be more competitive

Colorado Farm Bureau President Don Shawcroft said in a statement that “the agreement between the Trump administration and House Democrats on the terms of USMCA is the most welcome news Colorado farmers and ranchers have had in a long time.”

The “potential failure of the trade deal has hung over our industry and its farm and ranch families for quite some time. Recent trade agreements with Japan and other counties are important for expanding markets, but USMCA has long been a priority for agriculture and this agreement is fantastic news.

“Colorado’s farm and ranch families now have another reason to be thankful this holiday season.”

The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), based in Boulder, also cheered the news. 

“An agreement to move forward on USMCA is welcome news for outdoor manufacturers retailers and suppliers looking for some certainty in an uncertain trade environment,” said Patricia Rojas-Ungar, OIA’s vice president of government affairs, in a Tuesday statement.

“We applaud House Democrats and the administration for reaching an agreement on USMCA that will preserve the reciprocal duty free market access for outdoor apparel, footwear, and equipment and strengthen labor and environment provisions. In other words – this is good for American outdoor recreation businesses and our consumers.

Rojas-Ungar said she hoped the agreement would lead to momentum for ending the U.S.-China trade war that has been so damaging to the industry and its consumers.

“Certainty and market access is essential with all of our trading partners, not just in North America. Outdoor industry businesses and jobs depend on it. Now is the time to conclude a comprehensive deal with China that immediately lifts all punitive tariffs,” she said.

The USMCA will still need approval from lawmakers in Mexico and Canada.