[CTC] Pelosi's NAFTA process undeterred by Trump tariff threat || Tariff Deal Begins to Take Shape

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Two articles below...

Politico Pro

Cuellar: Pelosi's USMCA process undeterred by Trump tariff threat

By Adam Behsudi
06/07/2019 05:00 AM EDT

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is still working in good faith to address issues in the new NAFTA to get Democratic support for the deal, in spite of some recent actions by the Trump administration that have complicated the trade pact's passage.

Cuellar participated in a meeting this week with Pelosi, other senior Democrats and a delegation led by Mexico's foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard. He said Pelosi laid out at that meeting the issues Democrats want addressed in the agreement.

"While the president has thrown this grenade of chaos into the mix, the speaker is still moving forward," he said in an interview.

He said in a conversation this week with Mexican Senate President Marti Batres he was told lawmakers were expected to report a bill to ratify the trade deal out of committee the week of June 16. The expectation was to put it to a vote in front of the entire Senate the following week, Cuellar said, adding that he didn't know if new tariffs would derail those plans.

Cuellar, whose south Texas district includes the busy border city of Laredo, also indicated that he believed that Mexico has shown a new willingness to address U.S. immigration demands, which could avert tariffs that President Donald Trump has promised to impose as of Monday.

"It looks like the Mexicans are doing some of the things we all talked about. The president quite honestly is a visual type person," he said. "He likes to send the military to the U.S. border because he likes that visual. They had asked if I could talk to the Mexicans about them sending their military."

He added that he has been in frequent contact with officials at the White House and with the Mexican government, and that he had been asked by the administration to be a go-between with Mexico City.

"I think the Mexicans are going to be doing things they really haven't done in the past," he said.

The lawmaker said he was "very hopeful" a deal could be reached, but wasn't discounting Trump's willingness to impose tariffs as a way of demonstrating his resolve.

"He can either say, 'well I'm going to impose but delay the tariffs,' or maybe totally avoid them, or maybe put them there for a couple of days to shock the system," Cuellar said. "He has the tendency to like to do things like that.”

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Politico Morning Trade

TARIFF DEAL BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE: The White House said it plans to barrel ahead <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b496ea677a38020c39e22786ceb7e75c367a1bd7d014303aa79770d5e5d2cf85f02dec0a5c12988d7eecd21b87c957c8> with tariffs on Mexico by Monday, but reports are emerging that an immigration deal is taking shape. It's now just a question of whether President Donald Trump will accept it.

"It looks like the Mexicans are doing some of the things we all talked about," said Rep. Henry Cuellar <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b496ea677a38020cb7261fd78a6b462b3735c82cd072a314481f74fd1d145b973ff2ace7ac669818c75ebd5ba8275ff3> (D-Texas), who has been in frequent contact with both the White House and Mexican government officials this week. "The president quite honestly is a visual type person. He likes to send the military to the U.S. border because he likes that visual. They had asked if I could talk to the Mexicans about them sending their military" to Mexico's border with Guatemala.

Mexico makes some moves: Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard confirmed <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b496ea677a38020c8c5b7b43d0619e033cdb7c0f9284e11dd498a4962edad1dd151f6f670aefc6e8f06a447eb77576d4> reports on Thursday that Mexico would send 6,000 of its national guard troops to its southern border. Mexico also reportedly offered changes to its asylum rules that would require migrants from Central America to seek asylum in the first foreign country they enter.

"I think the Mexicans are going to be doing things they really haven't done in the past," Cuellar told Morning Trade, noting Mexico's previous rejection of a similar "safe third country" agreement. The lawmaker said he has advised Mexico to go as far as it can without sacrificing its sovereignty. "Trump should recognize them a lot more and give them credit for what they are doing," he said.

Vice President Mike Pence told reporters that Mexico brought more proposals to the table on Thursday that mainly dealt with internal security in Mexico. He said the U.S. made clear there would have to be "new understandings" between the two countries when asked about new asylum rules.

"But at this point, the tariffs are going to be imposed on Monday," Pence said late Thursday. "We've made that very clear to the Mexican delegation. But discussions are going to continue in the days ahead, and our hope is that Mexico will respond."

More talks: The Mexican delegation is expected to continue talks at the State Department today. Trump has threatened to impose an across-the-board 5 percent tariff on all imports from Mexico if an agreement can't be reached.

"We continue to explore options to address the growing number of undocumented migrants that pass through Mexico," Mexican Foreign Ministry spokesman Roberto Velasco Álvarez wrote on Twitter <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b496ea677a38020c1a60d35428da7a172f06618bff020e69f32ac643fd3fbf513e093b7e49b584ed8073e05a7e2ac340>. "The US position is focused on immigration control measures, ours on development. We have not yet reached an agreement but we continue negotiating."

Disapproval in the House: Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b496ea677a38020c82d7532f245430bed934e45a8a8053e43c038791c1b95f4a89c8a3ef6543533af375db7819127973>(D-Mass.) said "commandeering U.S. trade policy to influence border security is an abuse of power" and vowed to introduce a resolution of disapproval if Trump follows through on plans to hit Mexico with tariffs.

If passed by both houses of Congress, a resolution would have the effect of stopping the president's tariff action, but it's unclear whether opponents of Trump's plan could muster enough votes in both the House and the Senate to overcome a presidential veto.

PENCE MAKES A USMCA PITCH IN PENNSYLVANIA: Pence continued his roadshow touting the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement with a stop in York, Pa., on Thursday, where he warned that the clock was ticking on getting the deal passed in Congress. He also downplayed the impact of Trump's new tariff threat on getting the deal approved.

"We can fix our border, we can end this crisis, and we can pass a trade deal that will keep America growing like never before. We can do it all," he said, exhorting the crowd to "let your voice be heard and we will get the USMCA done this year." 

Pelosi's process undeterred: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b496ea677a38020c3d4fb02e8704192f82cc00d69bc8a749cc95c0518f0b61f1117b15d1231f5abbbe5abffdf5ac8e94>told Mexican officials this week that she's still committed to a process for finding a way to "yes" on the deal, said Cuellar, who attended a Wednesday meeting Pelosi held with Ebrard and other senior officials from Mexico.

"While the president has thrown this grenade of chaos into the mix, the speaker is still moving forward," he said.

Movement in Mexico: Cuellar also said Mexican Senate President Martí Batres told him in a conversation this week that Mexican lawmakers in the upper chamber were expected to report a bill to ratify the deal out of committee the week of June 16. The expectation was to put it to a vote in front of the entire Senate the following week, Cuellar said, adding that he didn't know if a new tariff would derail those plans. Ratification of trade deals in Mexico only require approval by the Senate.

Trump's take: The president didn't seem concerned about the impact of potential tariffs on USMCA.

"I'm not worried about it because they [Mexico] need us. We don't need them. They need us. They stole 32 percent of our car business with NAFTA. The stupidest deal, one of the truly stupid deals of our time," he said in an interview Thursday with Fox News in France taped shortly before the D-Day ceremony.

Trump also did no favors for his working relationship with Pelosi, calling her a "disgrace." <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b496ea677a38020c8cfe08a1cd3a25604584defc89d5a431b49469d7e9bcaed80b1aa168d5504ca8fd257943d9c1387a>

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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