Canada Democrats remain likely to ratify USMCA, despite delay, to show bipartisanship: expert

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talks with Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the United States House of Representatives as they take part in the D-Day 75th Anniversary International French Commemorative Ceremony at Juno Beach in Courseulles-Sur-Mer, France, on Thursday, June 6, 2019.

Despite delays, Democrats south of the border will likely still end up ratifying the USMCA trade deal, one expert says.

In an interview with the West Block's Mercedes Stephenson, Christopher Sands — director of the Center for Canadian Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies — acknowledged what he called a "tension" in current American politics between the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump and the lingering need to ratify the renegotiated NAFTA.

Gormley: Prairie alienation is real

Gormley: Prairie alienation is realWith 157 seats, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals will have a secure minority government, just a baker’s dozen off a majority and 36 seats ahead of the Conservatives of Andrew Scheer. This will assure the PM a strong mandate to govern with support from more than 30 Bloc Québécois MPs and 24 New Democrats.

In Canada, ratification of the USMCA isn’t as contentious but still has not yet happened. If the United States cannot move quickly enough and Canada is not able to ratify the USMCA by Despite those attacks, the Conservative Party has not indicated whether it will ratify the USMCA (or CUSMA

With Democrats who oppose some provisions within the USMCA controlling the House of Representatives beginning January 1, the ratification process may not proceed entirely smoothly. Trump threatening Mexico to solve the "illegal Immigration problem" will most likely delay any progress.

But he said he continues to believe the latter will still get done.

READ MORE: Mexico remains only country to ratify CUSMA — Here’s a look at what’s happening

“I actually am still optimistic that it will be passed," he said, pointing to the planned visit on Wednesday of Richard Neal, chairman of the House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee, with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to discuss the deal.

Sands added that from his view, ratifying the deal may help the Democrats make the argument that they are trying to work in a bipartisan manner at a time when partisan tensions in the U.S. are reaching new levels amidst the launch of impeachment proceedings.

“I think Democrats want to pass USMCA so they can say look, we can do things, we can even do bipartisan things, but there is a rule of law, impeachment matters, and Donald Trump has to answer for the bad things he’s done or may have done.”

Trudeau talks new NAFTA with Mexico's president as Pelosi signals optimism on ratification

Trudeau talks new NAFTA with Mexico's president as Pelosi signals optimism on ratificationAccording to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called to offer his congratulations to Trudeau on winning re-election.

Democrats have identified three key precluding concerns with USMCA : labor enforcement A2: Democrats have voiced concerns about a pharmaceutical provision in USMCA This would likely delay implementation until early 2021 and potentially longer depending on the outcome of the election.

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads On Wednesday, Mexico became the first country to ratify the trade deal to replace NAFTA, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA .

Trump had initially threatened to tear up NAFTA but agreed to renegotiate it instead.

Canadian, American and Mexican officials formally began renegotiation talks in August 2017.

Those concluded in September 2018 with a new agreement that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose hailed as a win and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer criticized as making too many concessions to the Americans.

The deal was signed in November 2018 but must be ratified by the legislatures of all three countries before it can take effect.

Mexico ratified the deal in June 2019 but neither Canada or the U.S. have done so.

Freeland and Trudeau have said Canada will move in lockstep with the U.S. towards ratifying the deal.

READ MORE: Canada formally presents draft legislation to ratify new NAFTA agreement

But it has come under scrutiny by some Democrats south of the border who have questioned whether its labour standards are tough enough and there have been few indications of when the deal could come for a vote in the House of Representatives, which is controlled by the Democrats.

Trudeau's government had tabled legislation before the House of Commons rose for the summer that would have let him recall MPs to ratify the trade before the election if the U.S. was able to get it ratified during that time period.

But once the election was called, that bill died and any new one would need to be reintroduced in the House of Commons.

While Trudeau has said he will name his cabinet on Nov. 20, he has not said whether he plans to recall MPs before the scheduled winter break, which normally lasts until the end of January.

That's right before the first polls begin in February for the Democratic primary race, which runs until June 2020.

The U.S. presidential election will take place on Nov. 3, 2020.