[CTC] Labor Takes Center Stage at Lighthizer Returns to the Hill

Wed Oct 30 07:10:25 PDT 2019

Politico Morning Trade

— U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is back on Capitol Hill this morning to talk USMCA with House Democrats, as some signal they could be nearing a compromise.

— AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has also been on the Hill this week for USMCA meetings with House leaders and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, discussions that suggest labor concerns are a major focus this week.

LABOR TAKES CENTER STAGE AS LIGHTHIZER RETURNS TO THE HILL: The U.S. trade chief will be back on Capitol Hill this morning to sit down once again with the USMCA working group amid signs that the two sides might be moving closer to a deal. House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fdf7c647db5046d10ecd4b02a05583f4a9a8dc7232c4955fc09e51d3dbcfb1ea5a3c50b2837d97719fa0a99fbcefde8> said after a working group meeting Tuesday morning <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fdf7c647db5046df56fa9f84c87397fda261a8c1f0a37f4a6c8d570ac69226dbbb1f3b8df51a28ebf067fed73229e5d> that a compromise is "really close" and could ultimately come down to a handful of outstanding labor issues.

Neal's message for Lighthizer this morning: "We think we're really close," the Massachusetts Democrat told Morning Trade. "There are a handful of issues that we think that could actually, on the labor front, push this over the goal line, and we would like some positive responses." 

Neal was careful to temper his comments, saying that while a deal by the end of the week was "possible," he didn't "want to promote any false probability."

Tangible progress: Rep. Jimmy Gomez <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fdf7c647db5046db3c0effb798e0bca844312e9a3a27c3dc7cebec6b618c84d50d0fb85f56efa77590a2b22db157a98> (D-Calif.), another working group member, responded later to Neal's comments with some skepticism. "Anything's 'possible,' right?" he said. "That doesn't mean that it necessarily happens."

Still, Gomez noted the working group is moving in the right direction and that he feels better than he did two weeks ago. In one concrete sign of progress, USTR over the weekend sent formal responses covering a variety of issues to the working group, which had been waiting for such text for several weeks.

Gomez said the text "covered a lot of things that were outstanding," but at least one other working group member says lawmakers are waiting on more proposals. "There's still things that we haven't seen in writing," Rep. Jan Schakowsky <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fdf7c647db5046decd29b8adf02e7e3c333774b13033340d45cb65c41a8353be5d310bc9e8f548004edd8a325025baf> (D-Ill.) said.

To be sure, the focus on labor doesn't mean all the other issues are resolved. Trade negotiators always warn that nothing is final until everything is final. And while Gomez acknowledged that labor has "always been one of the tougher components," he said concerns on other issues like drug pricing provisions and environmental standards remain.

"They all have pieces that are open," Gomez told Morning Trade. "It really depends on how it all kind of comes together at the end."

TRUMKA MAKES THE ROUNDS: Another major indicator that labor is in the spotlight this week: Trumka is meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. 

Trumka — an outsize figure in the labor movement whose support could prove crucial to the deal earning enough Democratic support to pass — sat down with Neal and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fdf7c647db5046d4ec64072f24abaab8d9b07a3438dd4c2030e1731c79932443bc671aa3a58b7a8fdcccf1786c5587a> on Monday, a congressional aide told Morning Trade. Trumka then met for roughly an hour with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Tuesday.

"He said what we've all been saying, which is USMCA has to get to the right place in terms of worker enforcement, labor enforcement provisions," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4fdf7c647db5046d1862b66877ea9462a42d1010ee0979985e651ab58c42d8f1dc237b22ce5e60d01cba55eaa396a1b9>, who co-chairs the CPC. "We're not quite there."

A major outstanding concern is whether Mexico will fully commit to making labor changes it promised to implement as part of the USMCA and the labor reform package the country passed earlier this year. 

"The Mexican government has given a number of things, and some of them are substantial, but others are not," Jayapal said, noting for example that the number of enforcement officers Mexico has committed is inadequate. "It's got to be backed up with real stuff that makes it happen."

No timeline: Jayapal did not answer directly when asked whether the CPC's outstanding concerns would make it difficult to hold a vote on the USMCA in the coming weeks.

"We all want to get it done as quickly as possible, but it's got to be right," she said. "And we're going to be patient about making sure it's right, because the consequences to American workers if we don't get it right could be devastating."

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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