[CTC] Trump will submit NAFTA replacement to Congress ‘very shortly’

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/08/trump-trade-nafta-1213098 <https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/08/trump-trade-nafta-1213098>

Trump will submit NAFTA replacement to Congress ‘very shortly’
Doug Palmer 
03/08/2019

President Donald Trump today said he plans to send the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to Congress very soon, which would start a 90-day clock <https://www.politico.com/interactives/2018/naftatimeline/> for lawmakers to approve or reject the plan without any changes.

"Mexico, Canada is done. We'll be submitting to Congress very shortly. And that's a great deal for the United States, so we're very happy about that," Trump told reporters <https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-marine-one-departure-33/> at the White House before departing for an event in Alabama.

The comment came as many Democrats are demanding the Trump administration reopen the agreement to strengthen labor and environmental enforcement provisions and address concerns about pharmaceutical issues.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not immediately respond to a request for more information. USTR negotiated the NAFTA modernization agreement under authority provided by 2015 trade legislation, which allows Trump to submit trade deals to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote without any amendment.

However, to allow lawmakers some input into the final implementing bill, previous administrations have worked with House Ways and Means and Senate Finance on draft legislation. Both panels hold what is known as "mock markups" where lawmakers can vote on suggested changes to the draft bill.

Once that process is complete, the final bill is submitted to Congress, setting off a 90-day "fast track" clock for Congress to approve the trade deal without making any changes.

However, in 2008, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through a rule change to turn off the 90-day clock, when then-President George W. Bush submitted a Colombia free trade agreement to Congress over the objections of House Democrats. The trade deal languished until 2011, when it was finally approved along with pacts with South Korea and Panama.

Pelosi could potentially do the same to USMCA if Trump ignored her advice about when and whether to submit the deal for a vote. So far, White House officials have been trying to win Pelosi's support for a vote on the agreement, rather than submit the pact without her approval.
 
Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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