<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Bell MT";
panose-1:2 2 5 3 6 3 5 2 3 3;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
h1
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:24.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
h3
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.Heading1Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1";
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading3Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3";
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 3.0pt 0in;background:white">
<h3 style="mso-margin-top-alt:1.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;border:none;padding:0in">
<span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#CC0000">Daily News<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
</div>
<h1 style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;mso-line-height-alt:19.5pt;background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333">Sources: Republican governors plan White House visit to push for change of course on NAFTA<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">December 12, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">A group of Republican governors is planning a visit to the White House to make the case against a NAFTA withdrawal and to plea for a change
of course in the administration’s approach to the ongoing talks -- a message they also plan to reiterate in a
<u>letter to President Trump</u>, sources told<em><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"> Inside U.S. Trade</span></em>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Key stakeholders aiming to save NAFTA have decided that efforts to lean on members of Congress for help have not produced sufficient results,
prompting them to increasingly involve governors in a <u>behind-the-scenes push</u> to preserve the deal’s benefits -- and to
<u>oppose radical changes</u> they fear could backfire against U.S. industries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Governors</span></u><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"> have raised concerns over several NAFTA proposals with
a number of administration officials, including U.S. Trade Representative Robert
<u>Lighthizer</u> and Agriculture Secretary <u>Sonny Perdue</u>, and have been lobbied extensively by Canada and Mexico. Now, sources say, a group of
<u>Republican governors</u> is preparing to take those concerns directly to Trump -- first, they hope, in a meeting with the president, and after that in
<u>a letter now being circulated for signatures</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The industries most actively engaged in the effort to rally governors are the automotive and agriculture sectors, and private-sector sources
said the governors’ involvement in the discussion on autos in particular has been “really effective in getting the White House’s attention,” as one put it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The source cited <a href="https://insidetrade.com/node/161134"><span style="color:#0066CC;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">a recent
meeting</span></a> between Vice President <u>Mike Pence</u> and auto executives from the “big three” automakers, which was also attended by
<u>Lighthize</u>r and National Economic Council director Gary <u>Cohn</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Sources said Pence, a former Indiana governor, reached out to the industry executives after
<u>governors “demanded” the White House get involved</u>, as one source described it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Engagement between governors and the administration peaked at the Republican Governors Association annual conference meeting with Pence in
mid-November. Sources said the vice president traveled to the meeting in Austin, TX, to brief the state executives on the tax reform bill that was being voted on in the House a day later.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">But instead of tax reform, sources said, many
<u>governors wanted to talk only about NAFTA</u> and the concerns with the administration’s proposals they had heard from constituents and stakeholders. The overall message from the governors to Pence -- to take to the president -- was “you’ve got to change
course on this,” one private-sector source said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">A source involved in the governors’ meeting said
<u>Pence was “taking notes</u> and encouraged them to come and engage with the administration about these concerns and talk about ways to move forward.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The general
<u>goal</u> behind the meeting was to <u>make Pence aware of the risk involved in the administration’s NAFTA approach</u>, another source said, and to hear that governors “want to
<u>make sure Lighthizer understands that</u>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Sources briefed on the Austin meeting also said several
<u>governors there suggested to Pence that Lighthizer was not serving the presiden</u>t well, and that his approach to the NAFTA talks was misguided.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Some governors have shared their concerns directly with Lighthizer. Several sources described
an October meeting between <u>Lighthizer, Pence</u> and Iowa Gov. <u>Kim Reynolds</u> </span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">at the White House, which one described as “contentious” and others said left Reynolds no less
concerned about NAFTA than before the meeting began.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">One source who was briefed on the meeting said Reynolds touted the importance of the agreement for her state, particularly for agriculture,
but <u>Lighthizer was dismissive</u> of her comments. At one point, that source said, Pence intervened, telling the USTR he was “not listening” to Reynolds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">But another source with knowledge of the conversation disputed those accounts, saying the meeting generally went well and that everything
Lighthizer said that day was in line with what he has said about NAFTA in public -- including stressing the administration’s willingness to walk away from the table if in his view Canada and Mexico do not engage more seriously in the negotiations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The source described Lighthizer as “passionate” and Pence as “more calm,” characterizing Pence’s intervention in Lighthizer and Reynolds’
conversation as “benign.” The vice president, according to the source, only meant to help clarify one of Reynolds’s questions -- while Pence’s “you’re not listening” comment was meant more like “you’re not understanding the question.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The source said that he would not describe Reynolds as “alarmed” when she left the meeting, but added that “Lighthizer brings out strong
feelings in people.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Reynolds, in a statement to <em><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Inside U.S. Trade</span></em>,
said she was “very appreciative of the access this administration has given not only to me, but to my fellow governors as well, as I was able to reiterate in person how important it is to the Iowa economy to finalize the modernization of NAFTA. It is clear
that this administration is committed to negotiating the best deal for America, and I look forward to partnering with them in that endeavor.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Sources said
<u>Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder</u> is among those who have talked to Lighthizer about the negotiations, particularly the auto rules-of-origin proposal that the auto industry -- so important to his state -- is pushing back against.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Several <a href="https://insidetrade.com/node/161069"><span style="color:#0066CC;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">studies</span></a> have
shown Michigan would be one of the most hard-hit states if the U.S. withdraws from NAFTA.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">A spokeswoman for Snyder told <em><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Inside U.S. Trade</span></em> his
office does not comment on discussions the governor has in private meetings. The spokeswoman said “Gov. Snyder is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the Trump Administration and other governors on trade matters, including NAFTA, and he expects that productive
work to continue.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Reynolds and
<u>Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson</u> are leading the effort to send Trump a letter on NAFTA that is being circulated for signatures</span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">, sources said. The source with knowledge of Reynolds
and Lighthizer’s conversation said there was no timetable for the letter but that it would likely be sent only after the governors have had a chance to meet with Trump, or perhaps with Pence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">A
<u>draft of the letter</u> reviewed by<em><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"> Inside U.S. Trade</span></em> says governors “have a unique perspective on trade” and that NAFTA has resulted in “big gains” for
the U.S. Withdrawing from it, they write, would be a “self-inflicted wound.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The letter also says the governors “commend” Trump’s Cabinet “to
<u>first do no harm</u>” and keep the trilateral structure of the agreement intact.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">A USTR spokeswoman declined to comment on accounts of Lighthizer’s discussions with governors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">A source said the governors “want to be constructive players in this process” but at the same time “have to pick a fight for their own credit.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">“They all sort of know that the minute you try to push Trump into a corner he lashes out and doubles down,” the source said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The source said countering Trump on NAFTA could have immediate consequences for the ongoing talks as well as political consequences for those
governors most dependent on Trump’s support for reelection.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Stakeholders and some congressional sources have privately lamented a
<u>lack of public engagement by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott</u>, whose state is hugely dependent on trade with Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Indiana’s governor,
<u>Eric Holcomb</u>, has not had any conversations with Lighthizer but “has been working with Indiana manufacturers for months on this issue,” his office said. And, in October, Holcomb sent a letter to the USTR saying contentious U.S. proposals like the one
on auto rules of origin “pose a significant risk to delay or derail the expedited renegotiation timeline.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">“Disrupting supply chains with new burdensome rules of origin such as national content requirements or unprecedented regional content levels,
as the U.S. will reportedly table in Round 4, will increase cost, reduce demand, impede exports, and negatively impact U.S. employment in Indiana and other manufacturing states,” Holcomb wrote on Oct. 10.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">“Free and fair trade policies with Canada and Mexico are essential if Indiana is to continue along this record-setting economic pace, and
I am confident that this can be achieved while the pieces of NAFTA so critical to states like ours are preserved,” Holcomb added. -- <em><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Jenny Leonard </span></em>(<a href="mailto:jleonard@iwpnews.com"><span style="color:#0066CC;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">jleonard@iwpnews.com</span></a>)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Michael F. Dolan, J.D.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Legislative Representative<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">International Brotherhood of Teamsters<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Desk 202.624.6891<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Fax 202.624.8973<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Cell 202.437.2254<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>