US House Democrats reach deal with Trump on US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement

House Democrats announced on Monday they have reached a deal with the White House on the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, bringing President Donald Trump closer to fulfilling a major legislative accomplishment,  a revamp of the old NAFTA that Mr Trump scrapped, and a fulfillment of a key campaign promise by the president, reported CBS News and other media.

Among concerns for Democrats holding up agreement was language in the new trade pact that protected manufacturers of expensive brand-name drugs from generic copies of their medicines.

Under US law, pharmaceutical makers are given 12 years of market protection for their drugs, which essentially provides them with a limited monopoly against competition from manufacturers of generic medicines. Canada grants drugmakers eight years of market protection, and Mexico provides five.