[CTC] A New Window for Movement on NAFTA 2.0

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Politico Morning Trade

— House lawmakers will be back in town this week amid fresh signs of progress between Democrats and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on the USMCA.

A NEW WINDOW FOR USMCA MOVEMENT: House lawmakers' return to Washington on Tuesday will kick off a two-week work period before members take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday — a sizable window that could see some movement on the USMCA.

The thorniest outstanding issues are concerns with the pact's labor standards and how to enforce those provisions, according to people familiar with ongoing negotiations between the USMCA working group, led by House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45c29439658e7807d2101092fb8679790bf4daf7033786cff6af7298cf3a62ada8c8ad330aea0535687337fac5d6e71e>, and Lighthizer. Two other issues — environmental standards and prescription drug language — have largely been resolved, although negotiators always caution that nothing is complete until everything is complete.

Still, it's possible that the differences are narrow enough that a handshake deal is within reach. House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45c29439658e7807038ebc928faa97841201b423c2247cdb163dc3bb6b6e7157b86294ac576a5b3bebaa212025e7e2f8> said late last week that Neal told him "he is gonna try to move it when we get back — next week or the week after."

"He is pushing hard," the Minnesota Democrat said on the AgriTalk podcast  <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45c29439658e780717eec23ed31681a19deb4cf1c4bf776099e14847dcd0358d623bbd959a14b32e3ed7589304dea263>. "It's gonna get done. The question is, is it gonna get done in those two weeks, or is it gonna get done in December?"

Steady progress: There have been a handful of signals since the House was last in session at the end of October that both sides are inching toward a deal. Neal told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45c29439658e78071769ece57d7bef3ffed2c4a005563b534399f58fb194343a2163d22a125c17f4bb5896dbb474e276> during a visit to Ottawa that the working group was "very close" to a deal with USTR. Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45c29439658e7807beb262ea73d256c2b8d47241579db3b624c2bac3245ddbb7b307d53183a8ee910a8aecd0f52259ae>, who in late October said he was "very worried" about the deal's prospects <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45c29439658e78072d1d464b664067c53482bac3ed7fe1462964ae47041e92ceb6f2ae05ce8062281cf2d3a4aa5116e3>, told reporters Wednesday he was more upbeat after talking to Ways and Means Republicans. And work has begun on the implementing legislation, which Finance staff is working on with USTR, a Committee spokesperson told Morning Trade.

Questions on enforceability: Democrats are still worried about whether there will be enough funding and resources dedicated to making sure Mexico adheres to the new standards. Sen. Tom Carper <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45c29439658e780755c29a0670929644470c81a055ac329cf3e0662e9c8c782cf129d40f08e3f620120d4416208d6fbf>(D-Del.) told POLITICO last week that he underscored that message in a recent meeting with Lighthizer.

"I just emphasized again how important it is that we not only have good provisions on the environment but that we actually have the resources to enforce them," Carper said, adding he has the same concern on the labor front. "For me, that's the tiebreaker."


Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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