MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday that he expected the United States to ratify a new trade pact to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) next month.

“I bet that in September, the agreement will be approved, and it will help us very much,” Lopez Obrador said at an event.

Mexican lawmakers have already ratified the deal, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), after leaders from Mexico, the United States and Canada agreed on terms in November.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is pressing U.S. lawmakers to quickly ratify the pact as well, but Democrats who control the House of Representatives say they will proceed only when their concerns related to labor, enforcement, climate change and pharmaceuticals have been addressed.