U.S. government shutdown delays ratification of new NAFTA

01/30/2019

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Janyce McGregor | CBC News

Mandatory study of deal’s economic impacts put off by 35 days

Washington’s International Trade Commission has confirmed that a key analysis required before the U.S. Congress ratifies the revised North American trade agreement has been delayed by 35 days because of the government shutdown.

“All investigations that were ongoing at the time of the lapse in appropriations will be [delayed] by 35 calendar days,” ITC spokesperson Peg O’Laughlin said in an email to CBC News.

All of the ITC’s work came to an abrupt halt during the shutdown, and more details on the revised schedules for its various investigations will be posted “in the coming days,” she said.

The shutdown ended provisionally on Jan. 25, when U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill funding the government for three weeks while Republicans and Democrats negotiate how to address security along the U.S.-Mexican border.

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