President-elect Joe Biden has tapped a China expert to be his U.S. Trade Representative, reflecting the most pressing trade issue his administration will face on day one – the ongoing trade war with the Asian economic powerhouse.

The split between lawmakers and farmers over President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and the results of a “phase one” deal was highlighted Wednesday at a hearing on Capitol Hill.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the implementing language for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement into law, leaving Canadian ratification as the last hurdle for the pact that would preserve the strong trade ties between the three North American countries.

The House overwhelmingly approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on a 385-41 vote Thursday, sending the new North American trade pact to the Senate, where it should pass easily early next year.

The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement easily clears the House Ways and Means Committee, teeing up a vote of the full House on Thursday.

The U.S. agriculture sector — from pork producers to vegetable farmers — is relishing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s agreement to a deal on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but farm groups won’t be satisfied until the House and Senate ratify the trade pact.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says negotiations to bring the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to the House floor are ongoing, but procedural steps required once a deal with the Trump administration is secured could push a vote into the new year.

President Donald Trump has said there are enough Democratic votes in the House to approve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and lawmakers like Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, agree, but there are still deep reservations by some over how to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Congress must pass a new stopgap spending bill this week to avoid a government shutdown ahead of the Thanksgiving break, while House Democrats look to nail down a deal with the White House to clear the way for approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

House Democrats and the Trump administration are close to striking a deal on enforcing labor standards in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the principal remaining issue that is yet to be resolved before a House vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday.