[CTC] Pelosi: U.S. House close to approving trade deal with Mexico, Canada

Fri Nov 1 09:26:05 PDT 2019

Two articles below…

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-northamerica/pelosi-u-s-house-close-to-approving-trade-deal-with-mexico-canada-idUSKBN1XA2H2 <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-northamerica/pelosi-u-s-house-close-to-approving-trade-deal-with-mexico-canada-idUSKBN1XA2H2>
Pelosi: U.S. House close to approving trade deal with Mexico, Canada
By Patricia Zengerle, Andrea Shalal
11/01/2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives is making progress every day toward approving the trade agreement President Donald Trump worked out with Canada and Mexico, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday.

FILE PHOTO: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 30, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
The House is on a “path to yes,” Pelosi said about ratifying the agreement, which was signed nearly a year ago, adding that her chamber’s inquiry into whether Trump should be impeached has “nothing to do” with its work on the agreement.

“We are moving with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, making progress every day,” Pelosi said. “I’m optimistic that we are still on a path to yes, and that ... we will come to conclusion soon on that.”

The Trump administration has been negotiating with House Democrats to address their concerns over the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which would replace the $1 trillion North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Mexico has already ratified the trade pact, while Canada has not. It was negotiated last year after Trump, a Republican, said the existing NAFTA deal was unfavorable to U.S. workers and businesses.

In the United States, the trade deal must win approval in a divided U.S. Congress where Republicans control the Senate and Democrats the House. Republicans worry the deal could get bogged down in the 2020 U.S. presidential election race if U.S. lawmakers do not ratify it soon.

Democrats say they are working closely with the U.S. Trade Representative’s office to get their concerns addressed. They have pressed for measures to ensure good enforcement of labor and climate provisions of the deal, as well as changes in provisions dealing with pharmaceuticals.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal told reporters on Wednesday he was upbeat about progress in the negotiations after a meeting of a House Democratic working group with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

He said he plans to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Canada next week, following a meeting with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador earlier this month.

Representative Kevin Brady, ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, told reporters on Thursday that “an awful lot of progress” had been made on the Democrats’ four key areas of concern.

“I think they’re getting close, on this, and I’m just pleased with the progress that’s being made,” Brady said. “I’m convinced we can get this done and to the president’s desk this year.”

Pelosi gave no details on what changes Democrats had secured, but said the trade agreement could eventually be a model for future trade deals.

“If we can come to terms, that I think we are close to doing, this will be a template for future trade agreements,” she said. “We have an opportunity to do it right.”

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https://www.ft.com/content/57556b04-fbf7-11e9-a354-36acbbb0d9b6 <https://www.ft.com/content/57556b04-fbf7-11e9-a354-36acbbb0d9b6>

Nancy Pelosi willing to allow vote on Nafta revamp
By James Politi, Demetri Sevastopulo
10/31/2019 

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, will allow a vote on the revamped Nafta trade deal in return for concessions on labour and enforcement provisions, potentially handing Donald Trump a victory even as Democrats press ahead with impeachment proceedings. 

Ms Pelosi said on Thursday that talks between congressional Democrats and Trump administration officials over changes to the pact with Canada and Mexico were in the “last mile”, and she was optimistic that an agreement could be reached. 

“If we can come to terms, [which] I think we are close to doing, this will be a template for future trade agreements,” Ms Pelosi said. “We have an opportunity to do it right,” she added. 

One Democratic lawmaker and several aides on Capitol Hill said that Ms Pelosi and senior party officials are inclined to clear the way for ratification of the deal — called USMCA — in order to show that they are capable of compromise even as they move on with Mr Trump’s impeachment.

Allowing a vote on USMCA in the House would probably benefit the party’s more conservative, business-friendly lawmakers in swing districts, whose survival will be crucial to maintaining a Democratic majority in the 2020 election. 

“The leadership wants to make this happen, the movement in that direction has been slow but inexorable,” said one Democratic aide familiar with the talks. “They want to go out there and say ‘our majority can do things’,” the aide said. 

Richard Neal, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, has been negotiating a compromise with Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, in a bid to agree on a text that could be sent to Congress for a vote by the end of the year — before the presidential primary season kicks into gear in early 2020. 

“They are working very hard to get to where they need to go,” Henry Cuellar, a Democratic representative who supports the deal from a district in Texas along the Mexican border, told the FT. “I know they are very close so unless something changes we hope that we can get something pretty quickly.”

There is still no guarantee that a settlement will be reached, however. A meeting on Wednesday between Mr Neal and Mr Lighthizer ended without an agreement, despite some hopes that one could be sealed as early as this week. Congressional Democrats are still insisting on changes to the pact that would toughen labour standards and make them easier to enforce. They hope that this could end scepticism about the deal among labour unions and avoid a backlash from a key constituency that risks splitting the party.

Mr Neal, who travelled to Mexico this month and is planning a visit to Canada next week to keep them abreast of the talks, has called on Mr Lighthizer to meet US labour unions directly in order to forge a solution. But it is unclear whether Mr Trump’s trade chief will agree. 

Nancy Pelosi: 'If we can come to terms, [which] I think we are close to doing, this will be a template for future trade agreements' © MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“[Ms Pelosi] is not going to bring it up if there’s a fracture, everyone’s walking a delicate line,” another Democratic congressional aide said. In addition, the aide added, “negotiating with the Trump White House is not an easy thing, and it depends on whether Lighthizer can really deliver on these demands.”

In her press conference, Ms Pelosi stressed the importance of ensuring adequate labour standards in the deal to prevent it driving down wages as US companies move production and sourcing south of the border — a longtime complaint of Nafta critics.

“This trade agreement is really helpful to the lives of America’s working families and you don’t help America’s working families by pauperising people in Mexico,” she said. “I voted for Nafta. I had my disappointments about it. I didn’t want this to be just Nafta plus a little bit. I want this to be structurally different in terms of who benefits, starting with American workers”. 

For Mr Trump, securing congressional passage of USMCA would mark a key accomplishment, since he often promised that he would revamp the 1994 pact during the 2016 campaign.

Much of the substance of the revised agreement tracks the existing deal, though it does tighten rules-of-origin and wage standards for auto production. It also adds a digital chapter to ensure more seamless flow of data across North America, which was not included in the original deal.

After reaching a limited trade pact with Japan, and as he strives for a truce with China, Mr Trump is trying to prove that his bluster on trade is delivering some results, and not simply big disruption and constant tariff threats.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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