WASHINGTON – The U.S. House is set to vote this week on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, and most members of Minnesota's congressional delegation are planning to vote for the rare compromise between President Donald Trump and House Democrats.
Among Minnesota's eight House members, only Rep. Ilhan Omar has signaled that she might vote against USMCA, as the agreement is known.
"We have engaged our stakeholders in Minnesota and still have concerns," Omar's spokesman said in an e-mail.
Other members, Democrats and Republicans, praised the deal.
"USMCA will open new markets, expand economic opportunity and create new high-wage jobs," Rep. Jim Hagedorn, a Republican from southern Minnesota, said in a news release.
Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat from St. Paul, had similar praise: "This deal is truly a new standard for U.S. trade agreements and a win for our economy and American families."
The deal is an update of NAFTA, meant to update terms of cross-border commerce between the three countries of North America. The leaders of all three countries have signed the agreement, but its progress was slow in Congress this year as Trump and House Democrats battle over impeachment.
