ALLENTOWN — U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is urging President Trump take necessary steps ratify his United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) during this session of Congress.

In a letter to the President, Toomey and 11 of his Republican colleagues state that passage of the USMCA will become “significantly more difficult” next year when Democrats take control of the House. The letter notes that it is still possible for the current Congress to consider and vote on the USMCA before the end of the year by using Trade Promotion Authority’s procedural protections to ensure an up-or-down simple majority vote. Further, it notes that Republican senators stand ready to work with President Trump on implementing legislation that could win a majority of votes in the Senate and House.

In addition to Toomey, the letter is signed by senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Deb Fischer (R-Kan.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Ben Sasse (R-Kan.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Toomey has outlined some of the problematic provisions in USMCA that should be addressed by Congress in the implementing bill.

“For free traders like me, the recently negotiated USMCA is a mixed bag of trade-enhancing and trade-restricting changes to the current North American Free Trade Agreement. Unfortunately, the benefits of these enhancements are more than offset by the trade-limiting provisions,” said Toomey. “However, I would be willing to vote for the agreement if the President takes steps to strengthen it in the coming weeks through pro-trade modifications in the implementing legislation.”