Mexico’s parliament passes trade deal with US, Canada

ANKARA

Mexico's parliament has passed the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement after months of intense negotiations.

"#TMEC [USMCA] approved! Mexico takes the lead, with clear signs that our economy is open market," said Jesus Seade, Mexico's undersecretary for foreign affairs and USMCA trade negotiator, in a Twitter post on Wednesday.

Seade expressed hope that other partners will follow suit in the interests of "a strong North America with clear rules, being attractive, stable and competitive for investment."

A picture posted by Saede shows that the agreement was passed in the parliament with 114 votes in favor, four against and three abstentions.

The trilateral trade bloc will be called USMCA -- instead of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) -- which was a condition of the U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

After taking the office in January 2017, Trump sought to replace the 25-year-old NAFTA pact, calling it "the worst trade deal ever signed".

In September 2018, the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. reached an agreement to replace NAFTA with the USMCA.