Trump highlights trade win amid impeachment

Signing a rewritten North American trade agreement on the White House South Lawn, Trump is hoping to demonstrate his successes even amid an impeachment trial.

But in a sign of festering resentment over the attempt to remove him from office, Trump only invited Republicans to attend the ceremony, along with farmers and workers the White House says will benefit from the renegotiated pact.

It's a day long anticipated by the trade-minded Trump, who earlier this month signed the first phase of a deal with China that aims to ease global trade tensions.

Both came as the impeachment saga charged forward. Trump is hoping to highlight a strong American economy -- bolstered, he says, by trade deals that better serve US workers -- as a way to rebut accusations he abused his office.

The US-Mexico-Canada agreement replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump railed against during the 2016 campaign. The new deal will undoubtedly feature heavily in his re-election pitch this year.

The plan enshrines new auto manufacturing requirements and tougher labor protections but largely leaves the trillions of dollars in trade flow between the three countries unchanged.

Democrats largely voted for the trade agreement alongside their Republican colleagues when it came to the floor for a vote in December. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said negotiations between Democrats and the Trump administration yielded a better deal -- one she said little resembles the one Trump originally sent to Capitol Hill.

She was not invited to the signing ceremony, a spokesperson for her office told CNN. Nor was Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat who shepherded the rebranded US-Mexico-Canada agreement to passage.

Many Republican members of Congress attended the event, as did GOP Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska.

"Along with Members of Congress, State and local leaders, and workers from across the country, including farmers, ranchers, and entrepreneurs, President Trump will celebrate another promise made, promise kept to the American people when he signs the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement," said White House spokesman Judd Deere. "USMCA rebalances trade in North America, replaces the job-killing NAFTA, ends the outsourcing of American jobs, and invest in the American worker."

Mexico has ratified the agreement, but Canada must still sign off before it takes full effect.

This story has been updated to reflect additional developments.