[CTC] No Deal on NAFTA Successor, but Democrats Point to Progress

[Arthur Stamoulis]

New York Times

No Deal on NAFTA Successor, but Democrats Point to Progress

Talks on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will continue through
the Thanksgiving break, with a vote possible in the weeks ahead, House
leaders said.
<https://www.nytimes.com/by/ana-swanson>
<https://www.nytimes.com/by/emily-cochrane>

By Ana Swanson <https://www.nytimes.com/by/ana-swanson> and Emily Cochrane
<https://www.nytimes.com/by/emily-cochrane>

   - Nov. 21, 2019

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers left the capital for the Thanksgiving
break on Thursday without a final agreement on President Trump’s revised
North American trade deal, prolonging a difficult negotiation with the
administration on one of the president’s trade priorities.

But top House Democrats insisted that they were closing in on a deal on the
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that would satisfy their remaining
concerns. Talks will continue over the break, and a vote to ratify the deal
could come in the following weeks, they said.

“We’re going to stay right at this for the next week,” said Representative
Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, the chairman of the Ways and Means
Committee, after a private meeting on Thursday with Speaker Nancy Pelosi
and Robert Lighthizer, the United States trade representative. “We do think
we’re down to two and a half, maybe three issues.”

Mr. Neal, who called the meeting “spirited” but “candid,” said the parties
had made substantial progress. He did not elaborate, but said some of the
progress related to enforcement, a major area of concern for Democrats.
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Ms. Pelosi echoed his comments. “I think we’re narrowing our differences,”
she told reporters as she left the hourlong meeting near the House floor.
“We made progress.”

But despite their positive statements, the parties may miss their 2019
deadline for approving the deal even if an agreement in principle is
reached in the coming weeks.

Republicans have repeatedly hammered Democrats over the delays. “We are one
week out from Thanksgiving, and there is still no tangible sign of progress
from the House,” Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the
majority leader, said in a floor speech Thursday. “If the House cannot pass
the U.S.M.C.A. this year, there is no way they’ll be able to claim the
people’s business has not taken a back seat to impeachment.”
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Officials from Canada and Mexico have signed off on the agreement, which
would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, the pact that has
governed commerce on the continent for a quarter-century. But it needs
congressional approval, which hinges on a vote in the Democratic-controlled
House.
Image[image: Representative Richard E. Neal insisted on Thursday that
Congress could still vote on the pact this year.]
Representative Richard E. Neal insisted on Thursday that Congress could
still vote on the pact this year.Credit...Jessica Hill/Associated Press

Such a vote would hand Mr. Trump a key political accomplishment in an
election year. For Democrats, it would be evidence of their ability to
advance legislation while also pursuing an impeachment inquiry, and it
would lock in some changes to the North American trade deal they support.

Mr. Neal insisted on Thursday that Congress could still vote on the pact
this year. But before the meeting with Mr. Lighthizer, Ms. Pelosi signaled
that a vote might have to wait until next year.

“I’m not even sure if we came to an agreement today, that it would be
enough time to finish,” she said. She and Mr. Neal have repeatedly said a
deal would be possible once Mr. Lighthizer offered a way to ensure that
there were adequate enforcement mechanisms.
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The administration’s trade deal contains some provisions that Democrats
have long fought for, including rules meant to encourage auto companies to
make more of their cars in North America. The plan also contains provisions
meant to strengthen Mexican labor unions and roll back a special system of
arbitration for corporations that has long been opposed by Democrats.

But Democrats say some portions of the agreement do not go far enough. They
have protested a provision that would increase intellectual property
protection for certain advanced drugs
<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/us/politics/nafta-drug-prices.html> as
a giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry. They have argued that the pact’s
labor and environmental provisions are too weak, and that the deal lacks an
adequate enforcement mechanism that countries can turn to if one party
breaks the rules.

Ms. Pelosi and the cluster of Democrats who have been negotiating with Mr.
Lighthizer in recent weeks have framed this as an opportunity to set a
standard for future trade agreements.

“There’s a feeling of urgency among some of our members, and I just want
them to consider the big picture,” said Representative Jan Schakowsky of
Illinois, a member of the group negotiating with Mr. Lighthizer. “This is a
legacy vote.”
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Supporters fear that, as the 2020 presidential election approaches, the
pact could attract more scrutiny from voters and more criticism from the
Democratic candidates, making it more difficult for congressional Democrats
to support it.

“Time is running out on the most important trade event of the Trump
administration,” said Derek Scissors, a resident scholar at the American
Enterprise Institute.

Freshman lawmakers huddled with Richard L. Trumka, the president of the
A.F.L.-C.I.O., this week as part of a campaign to assuage the fears of some
more moderate lawmakers eager to deliver word of the deal to their
districts. But little indication was given in regards to a specific date,
and Mr. Trumka previously pressured both the administration and Congress to
not rush a deal.

“It feels like we’ve been at the five-yard line for a while,” said
Representative Jimmy Gomez, Democrat of California and a negotiator. “But
in the end, if we get what we need, it’s going to be a different agreement.
It’s not going to be ‘NAFTA lite.’
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