[CTC] Sources: House working group, USTR hope to wrap up NAFTA talks this month

[Arthur Stamoulis]

*Sources: House working group, USTR hope to wrap up USMCA talks this month*

By Isabelle Icso, Inside US Trade

10/10/2019

House Democrats and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are pushing
to wrap up negotiations on outstanding U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement issues
by the end of October, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade.



Consolidated proposals recently have been exchanged at a more rapid pace,
these sources said, noting that much of the heavy lifting had been done.
Lighthizer and the USMCA working group could meet again next Wednesday,
they added. Democrats are most concerned about the deal’s enforcement,
labor, environment and biologics provisions.



The sources said enough work had been completed to make ratification before
Thanksgiving a strong possibility.



Earlier this week, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said a USMCA bill would
be defeated if brought to a vote before the holiday break. Labor's opinion
of the deal is a major factor for many Democrats.



But Myron Brilliant, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, said on Thursday he believed the two sides were “days away from a
breakthrough” on USMCA. Brilliant, also the Chamber's head of international
affairs, was speaking at an event held by FiscalNote and CQ Roll Call.



House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) led a
congressional delegation to Mexico City this week to meet with Mexican
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and other Mexican officials about
outstanding issues with the country’s implementation of labor reforms
called for in USMCA. López Obrador reportedly sent a letter to House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Tuesday asking for an expeditious USMCA
approval.



One source said the delegation’s visit and the Mexican president's letter
to Pelosi were having the “hoped-for effect of neutralizing labor’s
skepticism about that government’s commitment to implement their labor
reforms.”



Neal, in a statement on Tuesday, called the visit positive and added that
the working group continued to work “closely and productively with USTR.”



“Democrats remain committed to advancing these discussions -- regardless of
other congressional endeavors -- and intend to get the renegotiated
agreement right for U.S. workers, patients, and the environment,” he said.



House Ways & Mean trade subcommittee member Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) on Tuesday
called the trip a success, but added in a statement that House Democrats
“must know that Mexico is serious about beginning a new chapter before we
rush to judgement on a new agreement. We’ll have a suitable agreement only
when the hard terms match that aspiration.”



USTR did not respond to a request for comment on the negotiations with the
House working group.



Asked whether the talks were close to wrapping up, a congressional aide
told Inside U.S. Trade the two sides did not have a timeline and added that
an “agreement will be reached when it’s reached.”



“USTR and House Democrats continue to work together productively,” the aide
continued.



Meanwhile, Republicans are growing more impatient. “It has been 313 days
since the President signed the USMCA with Mexico and Canada.” Rep. Tom Rice
(R-SC) tweeted on Wednesday. “And yet still no vote. Instead, the Democrats
continue to try to undo the 2016 election. They struck out with the
Kavanaugh hearings and they struck out with the Mueller Investigation.”
Rice is a member of the House Ways & Means trade subcommittee.



“Speaker Pelosi is denying the American people the grand slam they deserve
by not bringing USMCA to the House floor for a vote,” he continued.



Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told reporters on
Wednesday that it “would not be wise” to mix impeachment with USMCA
ratification “because the American people don’t like those kinds of
political games.”



“When I had a meeting with Pelosi, I left with a firm conviction that she
wants to get to yes. There are good faith negotiations going on between the
White House and Democrats in the House to work out labor, environment,
enforcement and some things on pharmaceuticals,” Grassley said. “Almost
immediately after she [Pelosi] announced the impeachment inquiry, she said
she was still hoping to work with the White House on USMCA,” Grassley
noted, referring to an Oct. 2 Pelosi press conference.



Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826
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