[CTC] Key House Dems See No U.S. Plan To Fix Labor Problems In Mexico, Vietnam

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Daily News
Key House Dems See No U.S. Plan To Fix Labor Problems In Mexico, Vietnam
Posted: June 03, 2015
A number of House Democrats critical of the Obama administration's trade agenda on Wednesday (June 3) emerged from an hour-and-a-half long classified briefing on labor issues in Mexico saying the administration did not show it has a clear plan for tackling Mexican or Vietnamese labor problems in the context of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Their view has been backed up by others who say USTR is taking the approach of discussing with all countries what steps they would need take to come into compliance with the TPP labor chapter, but has not yet decided how it will enshrine these steps into a legal document.
House Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) -- while careful to say that he would not violate the terms of the briefing with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Labor Secretary Tom Perez -- told reporters afterward "there is no consistency plan" for bringing Mexican labor practices in line with draft TPP labor rules.
"There's a lot of discussion between the U.S. and Mexico, but at this point, in terms of the major issues ... there's discussion about change, but there are no concrete plans," Levin said. He reiterated his charge that Mexican employers utilize exploitative labor contracts and that Mexico's labor oversight board is ineffective and potentially corrupt.
He also complained that the administration is asking Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) without lawmakers having any idea as to what its "bottom line" is regarding labor issues in Mexico. He said that during the briefing, the two administration officials simply reviewed the overall labor situation in Mexico.
Levin also indicated that the administration does not have a concrete plan for how Vietnam will comply with TPP's labor obligations. "The same is for Vietnam ... and when we had the briefing, essentially what was said is that we're having discussions."
Levin's assessment was largely echoed by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), who also said he not did get a sense in the briefing that the administration has a plan for dealing with labor problems in Mexico. He derided much of the content of the briefing as "double-talk" and accused USTR of bringing in Perez to capitalize on his closer relationships with the Democratic party.
Perez did not respond when asked by a reporter to address these Democrats' claims about the apparent lack of a plan for what unions charge are serious labor rights violations. USTR also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Doggett complained that the briefing produced no evidence on how the administration is planning to proceed. "There is nothing for us to see in this room about Mexico, just as there is nothing in this room for us to see about Vietnam, nor has there been any willingness by USTR to tell us what proposals they have laid out to Vietnam and what the reaction to those proposals might be," Doggett said. "So they're seeking to get a vote on fast track before we know where that track ends up, and that's one of the many problems here."
He said there have long been indications that there would be some sort of labor action plan -- akin to what it negotiated with Colombia -- for countries in TPP like Vietnam and Mexico and that he believes the administration is likely working on some kind document.
"I believe there is such a plan but [USTR has] never been willing to concede it or to provide any version of it, draft or otherwise," he said. "Indeed, if after five years they don't have a plan, that says a great deal about their incompetence."
Doggett and Levin also said there is no indication that the administration is considering the idea of phasing in the commercial benefits of the agreement only after countries bring themselves into alignment with the labor obligations.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) also said she came away with the meeting without a sense that there is a clear plan to address labor issues in Mexico.
But these negative assessments were not universally shared. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)told reporters afterward that she was "grateful to the administration for being so available to make our members aware of what's going on." House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) also attended the briefing for a short while but would not comment.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) -- who has said she is a supporter of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and who has Nike in her legislative district -- also was more upbeat on the briefing. She said she believes the administration has a plan to deal with labor problems in Mexico and that the briefing "informed" her opinion on TPP. Obama last month made a major pitch for TPP and his trade agenda and TPP at Nike headquarters. The company exclusively produces its footwear overseas in low-wage countries like Vietnam.
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), the ranking member on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said that independent of the briefing he was unlikely to vote for either TPA or TPP because of what he said were the failures of NAFTA. Asked whether he believed TPP would also fail to improve labor rights in Mexico, he responded that labor rules have to be enforced if they are to be effective.
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