WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of 19 U.S. senators urged the Trump administration to push back the planned June 1 start date for the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact, saying the short lead time would add to pressures on U.S.
companies due to the spread of the coronavirus. In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the senators, led by Republican Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden, said the new trade deal, which replaces the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, should not enter into force until Mexico and Canada are in full compliance with their commitments. “Even absent the pandemic, a June 1 deadline would be highly aggressive, and raises questions as to