[CTC] Levin, Kind warn Trump against forcing a choice between NAFTA 2.0 or no NAFTA

Wed May 9 08:36:35 PDT 2018

INSIDE US TRADE

Levin, Kind warn Trump against forcing a choice between NAFTA 2.0 or no NAFTA

May 08, 2018
House Ways & Means Committee Democrats Sandy Levin (MI) and Ron Kind (WI) warned President Trump on Tuesday that initiating the NAFTA withdrawal procedure at the same time he sends Congress a NAFTA 2.0 deal -- essentially leaving lawmakers to choose his new deal or no deal at all -- would be unacceptable.

“As active members of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, we write to express our concerns about reports of your Administration’s attempt to finalize a renegotiated NAFTA -- in particular attempting to force Congressional action through the threat of withdrawal -- could jeopardize such a process,” the letter <https://levin.house.gov/sites/levin.house.gov/files/documents/Resources/pdf/20180508letter_LevinKind_to_POTUS_RE_newNAFTA.pdf> reads.

“A new NAFTA should pass Congress based on its merits and not on the threat of withdrawing from the existing agreement,” the lawmakers continue.

Sources on Capitol Hill and former congressional staffers have speculated that Trump could trigger the withdrawal process if his administration believed a new deal worked out by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer could not win congressional approval without the added leverage of a choice between it and no NAFTA at all.

Those sources, however, added that Democrats could opt to try to pin the economic turmoil that would follow a NAFTA withdrawal -- including a shock to the stock market -- on Trump and his team.

“Democrats could force Trump to own the economic disaster of withdrawal,” one source said.

Kind and Levin suggested that strategy would be the one they would choose if Trump presented them with a take-it-or-leave-it deal. They also reminded Trump that the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations rests in the hands of Congress, and while some of that authority has been delegated to the executive branch, an all-or-nothing approach could result in that authority being taken away.

“It is our view that using withdrawal to force Congress to act on a potentially flawed new NAFTA is a violation of the delicate balance between the executive and legislative branches carefully crafted over decades -- and a false choice,” the letter said.

“The authority over foreign commerce lies with Congress and any decision to change U.S. law -- no matter the subject -- must pass both the House and the Senate. Any attempt to hold Congress hostage would threaten your Administration’s negotiating authority and only serve to sow chaos in the U.S. economy,” the letter continues.

Kind and Levin also said there had been “incomplete information sharing with both the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Advisory Group on Negotiations."

Ways & Means ranking member Richard Neal (D-MA) and trade subcommittee ranking member Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) last month requested that Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) convene a HAGON meeting with Lighthizer. Brady has requested a meeting, sources said, but one has not been scheduled. Lighthizer is seeking to conclude a NAFTA deal within two weeks.
Lighthizer and his counterparts from Mexico and Canada reconvened in Washington, DC, on May 7 to hold a new slate of minister-level talks in hopes of sealing a deal. Auto rules of origin continue to be the main sticking point, along with rules on investor-state dispute settlement, a five-year sunset clause and labor provisions, sources said.

The intellectual property chapter -- a key portion of the deal <https://insidetrade.com/node/162956> for some stakeholders and lawmakers -- also remains severely underdeveloped <https://insidetrade.com/node/162891>, according to stakeholders.

Last week, Lighthizer said NAFTA could be on “thin ice” if a deal was not stuck within two weeks of May 7. His urgency stemmed from his desire to present a deal to the current Congress because he believes a new Congress would have different priorities that might result in slimmer chances of a new deal's approval. -- Jack Caporal (jcaporal at iwpnews.com <mailto:jcaporal at iwpnews.com>)

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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