[CTC] Democrats split on next steps after airing NAFTA concerns with Lighthizer

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Democrats split on next steps after airing USMCA concerns with Lighthizer

INSIDE US TRADE
March 13, 2019 at 5:40 PM
 
A handful of Democrats on Wednesday called a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer generally constructive, but most said the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement did not yet have enough support to pass.
 
Lighthizer briefed the Democratic caucus the day after meeting with the party’s pro-trade New Democrat Coalition <https://insidetrade.com/node/166046> on Tuesday. Most Democrats left Wednesday’s meeting feeling “very skeptical,” according to Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH).
 
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who has been holding USMCA “whip team” meetings this year, told Inside U.S. Trade that while Wednesday’s meeting was an open dialogue, “we are not there yet in terms of a final product.” DeLauro is a member of the trade-skeptical Congressional Progressive Caucus; its leaders this week said the caucus was taking a position of opposition to the current USMCA.
 
 “People were straightforward” with Lighthizer, DeLauro said, adding that the concerns voiced during the meeting revolved around enforceable labor standards and what DeLauro characterized as the “pharmaceutical giveaway,” a reference to the deal's biologics language.
 
“All of these things were brought up. For the most part, the ambassador was listening to concerns expressed and understanding where people were coming from but there was not hard-and-fast, definitive pronouncement on where it goes,” she said.
 
A majority of Democrats “spoke about wanting to find a way forward and to continue to try and work together to do that,” she continued. “And that is important to say that we are not there yet -- not there in terms of a final product. We are going to have to wait and see.”
 
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), a member of the House Ways & Means trade subcommittee, said Lighthizer excelled in explaining the administration’s position on pushing to get USMCA passed this year. Asked if the USTR provided the caucus with enough assurances and details aimed at addressing concerns, Pascrell said “he has given me enough details.”
 
“We are trying to get the votes and the deal’s got to reflect what we are interested in,” Pascrell told Inside U.S. Trade. “And our major priorities are labor standards and how to implement those standards, which has always been a problem in the past.”
 
Luz Maria de la Mora, Mexico’s deputy trade minister, said recently that the country’s legislature was working to pass <https://insidetrade.com/node/165977> required labor reforms before the Congress ends its session on April 30. Pascrell said he pressed Lighthizer on this issue, adding, “Hopefully they vote on it before they go out of session in April. If they don’t then we have a real problem.”
 
Pascrell said Lighthizer “doesn’t want to negotiate a product that doesn’t get enough votes and he knows he needs Democrats to have enough votes."
 
Asked about a path forward, the lawmaker said “I trust Lighthizer. I don’t trust the White House.”
 
President Trump has pledged to withdraw from NAFTA to force a vote on USMCA, though he has not repeated the threat of late as Lighthizer has ramped up efforts to mollify congressional concerns.
 
Pascrell added that he hoped the deal could be passed before lawmakers' August recess, but said other members in Wednesday’s meeting espoused a less positive view.
 
Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), a member of the New Democrat Coalition, called Wednesday’s meeting with the trade representative “constructive.” He said “everyone” was “talking about the enforceability aspect of it and also making sure Mexico passes labor laws to protect their workers.”
 
Reps. David Cicilline (D-RI), a vice chair of the progressive caucus, and Kaptur were less sanguine about the meeting and the agreement more generally.
 
Asked if Lighthizer addressed the progressive caucus’ concerns, Cicilline said: “No.”
 
“There are very real concerns that I have with respect to prescription drug prices and enforcement on a number of provisions in the agreement,” he told Inside U.S. Trade. “So, I’m optimistic; I’m hoping there is a path to get us there but, in its current form, I think there are substantial problems with the agreement.”
 
During Tuesday’s meeting with the New Democrat Coalition, Lighthizer said he planned to address the party's concerns via implementing legislation and other avenues as opposed to re-opening the agreement.
 
But Cicilline said “I don’t know that implementing legislation solves the problem,” and contended that “the underlying document” needed an outright overhaul. Other Democratic lawmakers have called for the Trump administration to re-open negotiations with Canada and Mexico.
 
Kaptur, meanwhile, expressed concern about Mexico’s accountability.
 
“I’m glad we had the opportunity for dialogue -- that doesn’t mean agreement,” she told Inside U.S. Trade. “The trade ambassador can say the government of Mexico will pass laws but I can guarantee you they will not enforce them because we have lived this.”
 
Lighthizer, she continued, “made it appear like [Mexico] would do anything to get this passed.”
 
“Well, Mexico is a very corrupt society and if you believe the tooth fairy, you will believe that they enforce the law. Let me tell you, in every single instance when we’ve attempted to do that, it has not been possible,” she said.
 
“There are some advocates; you know they will be for anything. But most of all, when people really understood what was happening on prescription drugs, when they realized how the rule of law is not enforced … people left there very [uncertain],” Kaptur added.
 
She said the deal as written would not win her approval. “I am not willing to vote for the whole hog because I know what that means in Mexico and it means no enforcement,” Kaptur said. -- Isabelle Hoagland (ihoagland at iwpnews.com <mailto:ihoagland at iwpnews.com>)
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