[CTC] All Eyes on Today's NAFTA Meeting (and Brazil FTA in the Wings)

[Arthur Stamoulis]

ALL EYES ON TODAY'S NAFTA MEETING <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=74ad04129aee3a10b979cf494c1ec8f756ac4e5638b7ed2a343d8623f60394301b8f66567a5d5819e62ffb4f29632389>: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is expected to host Mexican Undersecretary for North America Jesús Seade and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in Washington today for another round of talks on the USMCA, seven people familiar with the plans told POLITICO.

The pre-Thanksgiving meeting offers the latest sign that Lighthizer and House Democrats are "within range" of a compromise, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi  <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=74ad04129aee3a10a92311ec02db71734cc3fd9f1ad4ab6dac1c64685df9b6807792289fcca974d3e0d6a922ba6dab87>put it on Monday night. Lighthizer must get sign-off from both Mexico and Canada before any changes can officially make it into a final deal. 

Ottawa is expected to agree to what's on the table, but Mexico remains more of an open question. Some Mexican officials are increasingly concerned that Democrats and labor leaders are pushing for changes that would be a threat to the country's sovereignty. They also worry that if demands go too far, they will be forced to reject the compromise — further holding up ratification of the pact.

The Canadian question: A Canadian government official could not confirm whether Freeland would attend the meeting today, leaving open the possibility it will be a bilateral conversation between Lighthizer and Seade. But the official told POLITICO Freeland has been in "regular contact" with her counterparts in Mexico and the U.S., including several times with Lighthizer this week.

Mexico puts its foot down: Seade has made clear during previous trips to Washington that Lighthizer is already well aware of what Mexico can and cannot accept. 

"Mexico has done a lot; it has done everything required," Seade said Monday. "We've participated in a constructive way. Now, let's turn the page and pass this."

It's all about the text <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=74ad04129aee3a10839d7c95d0db5ee827b793638fdbb339aaaa61568a896cad79b859febdbcc6711b7abca57250e9a9> : Democrats have said for a few weeks now that they want to see text of any agreement before they move forward, and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Tuesday that the Trump administration is willing to hand it over.

Navarro told Fox News that Lighthizer, who spoke with Trump about the deal on Tuesday, will "do whatever he needs to do to give them what they need to get confident about it ... meaning that, if they want paper on the deal, yeah."

Extra push for USMCA passage: Farmers for Free Trade, a coalition of agriculture commodity groups, rolled out new radio and digital ads on Tuesday targeting 21 moderate Democrats — many of who come from districts that Trump won in 2016. The group, which spent $300,000 on the ads, said in a statement that the goal is to remind lawmakers from ag-heavy districts "why USMCA is a badly needed victory for farmers and the rural economy."

BRAZIL EAGER FOR NEW TRADE DEALS: <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=74ad04129aee3a1037189c9166f4a8622561d63d9e04a6ff5da16c0fc173a3998395303e3ece70320c219eef9a4759d6> Under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil is bursting to explore new opportunities with some of the world's biggest economies, including China and the United States, Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said Tuesday.

"We are talking with Japan, with South Korea and with Canada. China is going to Brazil and sounding us [out] about the free trade area," Guedes said at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Here in the United States, "we are talking to Trump, to Larry Kudlow, to Wilbur Ross" about establishing deeper trade and investment ties, he added. 

The remarks follow Monday's meeting of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum, <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=74ad04129aee3a1055f618224ce8e6702f734f8eff1037968514401660371fdc8183230e905df2bb445578af413e90c1>which Kudlow, chief White House economic adviser, and Commerce Secretary Ross co-chaired with Guedes and Bolsonaro's chief of staff, Onyx Lorenzoni. 

In a tweet Tuesday morning <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=74ad04129aee3a10e83d216c4d38bfa89294577360750970f6fe66f885cf0bbcf44a5831c517e9b40ecb6b2016bee569>, Ross praised the Brazilian government's effort to tackle corruption. "If this issue can be resolved, the amount of investment between our countries would grow dramatically," Ross said.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.citizenstrade.org/pipermail/ctcfield-citizenstrade.org/attachments/20191127/939ea814/attachment.html>