By Natalie Andrews, William Mauldin and Andrew Duehren 

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats were closing in on a deal with the administration that would lead to a vote in Congress on a renegotiated trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.

Mrs. Pelosi (D., Calif.) said that Democrats were "within range" of an agreement and focused on the implementing language for the trade pact which would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. An announcement on the new pact, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, could come as early as Tuesday, according to several lawmakers.

"There's no use discussing it any further: we're either yes or no," Mrs. Pelosi said, speaking at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council meeting Monday night in Washington.

Democrats huddled late Monday to go over the finer points of the agreement. Leaving the speaker's office, Rep. Richard Neal (D., Mass.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said he expects a vote on the agreement on the House floor before the end of the year.

"We're really close to a deal and I hope that we'll be able to give you some verification on it tomorrow, maybe early afternoon," Mr. Neal said.

Democrats have been pushing for language that would boost Washington's ability to enforce USMCA's new labor rules aimed at Mexico. The Mexican government proposed allowing binding arbitration panels, but not the U.S. inspectors that some Democrats wanted, to enforce labor standards. It couldn't be determined if that will be enough to earn the support of progressive Democrats.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.), a member of the USMCA working group who was focused on improving labor standards, said she still needed to read the latest text of the agreement.

"It's not chicken soup yet," Ms. DeLauro said. Later, when leaving the meeting, she added: "I need to read what the changes are. I want to see what we had talked about and where we've come out."

Earlier Monday, President Trump reported significant progress on reaching a deal with House Democrats.

"I'm hearing a lot of strides have been made over the last 24 hours, with unions and others," Mr. Trump told reporters. "And I hope they put it up for a vote, and if they put it up for a vote, it's going to pass."

A Trump administration official said that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was expected to travel to Mexico Tuesday to meet with officials on revisions to the pact originally signed last year.

The AFL-CIO hosted a conference call Monday afternoon with leaders of its constituent unions to discuss whether to accept the current progress at the negotiating table or potentially ask Democrats and U.S. officials to seek more concessions from Mexico, according to people familiar with the call.

Mr. Trump discussed the trade deal by phone Monday with Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, a White House official said. Representatives for the AFL-CIO didn't respond to requests for comment.

Mrs. Pelosi declined to say how much Democratic support she would have should the agreement come to a vote.

"You don't have to have unanimity, you just have to have consensus," she said.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that the latest proposal for modifying USMCA was presented to the Mexican senators and informally approved.

"We have done our part, and we consider that it's a good agreement for our countries, very appropriate for the people of the U.S., of Canada and of Mexico," said Mr. López Obrador, urging Mrs. Pelosi to move ahead with ratification. "I think now is the right moment."

The prospect of passing USMCA, a priority for Mr. Trump, around the same time as the House is considering impeachment is creating some logistical hurdles. On the political side, however, it allows some House Democrats facing tough races next year to show constituents that they can hold Mr. Trump to account and nearly simultaneously move forward on shared policy priorities.

The Senate is likely to take up the trade agreement in January, a GOP aide said. Even though the chamber is expected to be in the midst of Mr. Trump's impeachment trial, the Senate could debate and vote on the trade agreement in the morning, before the trial starts in the afternoon. The deal is expected to pass the Senate.

Anthony Harrup contributed to this article.

Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com and Natalie Andrews at Natalie.Andrews@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 09, 2019 21:50 ET (02:50 GMT)

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