Mexico to urge Pelosi to move ahead with trade deal approval

• Mexico's President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said he believes the U.S. Congress would approve the deal before the end of 2019.
• Nevertheless, deputy foreign minister for North America Jesus Seade, Mexico's chief negotiator for the USMCA, said he was "pessimistic" that the accord would be approved before 2020.
• The USMCA was agreed last year after a lengthy process of negotiation pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks to the media during her weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol on November 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. Pelosi spoke about her legislative plans through the new year and the lack of progress she feels the Senate is making on passing legislation the House has already passed. She then took questions.

Alex Edelman | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Mexico's government will this week send a letter to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging Congress to approve a new trade deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday.

Speaking at a regular government news conference alongside various ministers, Lopez Obrador said he was sure that Pelosi and Democratic lawmakers would help Mexico, and that he believed the U.S. Congress would approve the deal before the end of 2019.

Nevertheless, deputy foreign minister for North America Jesus Seade, Mexico's chief negotiator for the USMCA, said he was "pessimistic" that the accord would be approved before 2020.

Mexico, which ratified the USMCA earlier this year, is eager for the agreement to be ratified because the country's exports and foreign direct investment are heavily dependent on its unfettered access to the U.S. marketplace.

The USMCA was agreed last year after a lengthy process of negotiation pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).