A recent report on the Wall Street Journal suggests that the US is getting closer to ratifying the USMCA trade agreement. The report quotes an administration official who confirms that the House Democrats and the US Trade Representative’s office are getting very close to completing their revised version of the trade agreement which will replace NAFTA.

The deal could be ready as soon as by Christmas, as the House Democrats coordinate with USTR to resolve their key issues with the agreement. For now, the Democrats are in the processing of reviewing a proposal on the USMCA sent by the USTR office.

The USMCA aims to replace the aging NAFTA agreement and has already been ratified by Mexico. On the US side, Democrats had raised concerns on certain issues pertaining to enforcement of labor and environmental provisions within the agreement, which held up its ratification so far.

Canada, meanwhile, is waiting for the US government to ratify the agreement before making a move on it.