[CTC] House Democrats propose way around NAFTA issues

Thu Apr 11 06:55:19 PDT 2019

House Democrats propose way around USMCA issues
BY SABRINA RODRIGUEZ <https://subscriber.politicopro.com/staff/sabrina-rodriguez>MEGAN CASSELLA <https://subscriber.politicopro.com/staff/megan-cassella>

POLITICO PRO, 04/10/2019

House Democrats are working to find their way around a stalemate with President Donald Trump over NAFTA 2.0 by focusing on a new message: With small-scale changes, we can get this passed.

The Trump administration has resisted Democrats’ calls to reopen the agreement, arguing that returning to the negotiating table could unravel the deal that took 14 months and a lot of political will from Mexico and Canada to negotiate. Officials from Canada and Mexico have also rejected calls to do so.

In a new approach, several Democrats are suggesting that the Trump administration could work with its North American counterparts to agree on specific amendments to be incorporated into the deal to address complaints about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

“I believe that what’s needed is agreement on narrow, specific amendment or amendments,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett <https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51359> (D-Texas) told POLITICO after a caucus meeting Wednesday morning focused on trade. “Then at one point, all three parties agree to alter the agreement on those amendments without reopening it for discussion of things that put us back at the negotiating table and involve months of additional effort that could lead to the agreement never being approved.”

Doggett, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and longtime advocate for fair trade policies, said he had raised the idea of a narrow reopening during Wednesday’s meeting. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi <https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51564> had invited AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to the caucus gathering.

Democrats who were there said roughly 50 of the party’s 235 House members attended the discussion, which focused on a range of concerns that Democrats have about labor standards, enforcement and pharmaceutical provisions in the replacement deal for NAFTA.

In recent weeks, a growing number of Democrats have called on the administration to reopen the text of USMCA. Pelosi said last week it would not be enough to address Democratic concerns through implementing legislation, the bill that Congress passes to enact a trade deal.

But Democrats are emphasizing that reopening to address specific changes does not mean USMCA will fall apart.

“We know, in the past, other agreements have been opened to make changes. We can be specific about what we want,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro <https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51351> (D-Conn.) told POLITICO. “The entire agreement doesn’t have to be reopened.”

Democrats are primarily concerned about whether the language of USMCA’s labor and environment standards is strong enough and able to be enforced. Many Democrats have also said that the deal’s intellectual property provisions would lock in high prescription drug prices.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have also called for the Trump administration to lift its continued tariffs on steel and aluminum from Mexico and Canada. Both countries have said the tariffs pose a major roadblock to getting USMCA passed in their respective legislatures.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has repeatedly told lawmakers that Mexico and Canada are unwilling to revisit the deal.

“We’re kind of at a stalemate with the three parties — Canada, Mexico and Bob Lighthizer — claiming that nothing can be opened up in the agreement, [that] it’s got to be through implementing language or some kind of side provision,” Rep. Ron Kind <https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51464> (D-Wis.) told POLITICO.

“That hurdle has got to be overcome,” he added.

Democrats are also aware that the Trump administration will need their votes if they want to pass the deal — which the White House has marked as a legislative priority — and so are unwilling to back down from pressing their concerns.

Rep. Dan Kildee <https://cd.politicopro.com/member/198805> (D-Mich.) noted that when it comes to reopening, members of the administration “clearly don’t feel that they should or want to do that. But here’s the thing: We’re not moving.”

“There’s not some hourglass running out of sand right now that says that if we don’t get this done the whole world’s going to blow up,” he said. “Let’s get it right.”

In the meantime, House leaders are ramping up their efforts to educate members on the deal. Lighthizer addressed the caucus last month for the first formal meeting on USMCA, and he has been on Capitol Hill several times in recent weeks to chat with members.

House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal <https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51543> (D-Mass.) told POLITICO that there is no solution yet on how to address the main Democratic concerns. But “I think you can keep the pace of this where it is, while you continue to seek information,” he said.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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