[CTC] Dems Blast Trump NAFTA Enforcement in Report Card

Tue Nov 3 06:41:43 PST 2020

Report card attached…

Politico Morning Trade

DEMS BLAST TRUMP USMCA ENFORCEMENT IN REPORT CARD: A new report <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4ce899b568f6cb84ddc6ac3d8fb872eeb4c76b9aaed7956a2c4f42f7caa4e9764fc2403f00225e37e4fb70612ccbf91> from House Ways and Means Democrats expresses “grave concerns” with the Trump administration’s enforcement of labor, environmental and automotive provisions in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement.

Forced labor worries: The NAFTA rewrite was approved with what Dems call the “gold standard” of forced labor prevention. But the lawmakers criticized the Trump administration for being late when it established a required task force on the issue. They also said the group’s first enforcement report is now more than two months overdue.

No enforcement cases: The Ways and Means Democrats also complained that USTR and the Department of Labor have only used a fraction of allocated funds for labor compliance and have yet to bring their first enforcement action of any kind.

“While both USTR and DOL have slowly added staff, it appears that the agencies are still in reactive posture, waiting for someone to bring them cases,” they wrote, adding they are still waiting for the agencies to use their environmental enforcement powers as well.

Auto jobs still sliding: And the lawmakers added that automakers are still making “significant investments” in Mexico and closing plants in the U.S. despite new provisions aimed at stemming the tide of job losses over the southern border.

The report from the House lawmakers comes days after Sen. Ron Wyden <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4ce899b568f6cb8ed0c92226c75d838ee090b4aca6bef52c84d334eeb8beb900fe296f7cbf90bc266539e8054acf5e8>, the top Finance Democrat, criticized Trump’s USMCA enforcement  <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4ce899b568f6cb8de598c9fb7d585934a8b20597152aa256273618300837b51eee9f7a49c3a3d5cdda243ccf334aa50>in a letter.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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