<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/26/nafta-ministers-to-meet-in-washington-on-wednesday-074107" class="">https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/26/nafta-ministers-to-meet-in-washington-on-wednesday-074107</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><h2 class="headline">NAFTA ministers to meet in Washington on Wednesday</h2><div class=""><p class=" story-text__paragraph">The three trade ministers from the
United States, Canada and Mexico are set to meet in Washington on
Wednesday to discuss the deal to replace NAFTA, seven people familiar
with the plans told POLITICO. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">The meeting involving U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Lighthizer, Deputy Canadian Prime Minister
Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Undersecretary for North America Jesús
Seade comes as the Trump administration is nearing a compromise with
House Democrats to make changes to the USMCA. </p></div></div><div class=""><section class="page-content__row page-content__row--story"><div class="container story-layout--fluid-fixed container--story"><div class="container__column--story container__column summary-middle"><div class="story-layout--fixed-fluid container__row--story container__row"><div class="container__column--story container__column center-horizontally"><div class="story-text"><p class=" story-text__paragraph">Lighthizer
has been negotiating with a group of nine House Democrats to address
four main concerns involving the pact’s labor, environmental,
enforcement and drug pricing provisions.</p></div></div></div></div>
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<div class="story-text"><p class=" story-text__paragraph" data-content-child-index="0-0">Any
changes to the text would have to be approved by Canada and Mexico
before the Trump administration can finalize the agreement and send it
to Congress for a vote. Canada is expected to accept changes to the text
without issue. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph" data-content-child-index="0-1">But
it’s not clear whether Mexico will accept new provisions that target
how the nation enforces the agreement, particularly when it comes to
labor standards. 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. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph" data-content-child-index="0-2">They
also worry that any demands that go too far would force Mexico to
reject a compromise between Democrats and Lighthizer, further holding up
ratification of the pact. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph" data-content-child-index="0-3">Still,
the upcoming meeting is the latest sign that talks between Democrats
and Lighthizer are in the final stages. A meeting late last week between
Lighthizer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Ways and Means
Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) ended in an impasse that left both sides
discouraged, multiple people familiar with the meeting said. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph" data-content-child-index="0-4">But
discussions continued over the weekend, moods have improved and the two
sides have sketched out the outlines of a “shaky” agreement, these
people said. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph" data-content-child-index="0-5">“People are looking to firm the grip with something in writing,” one of the people said. </p></div></div></div></div></div></section></div><p class=" story-text__paragraph">Pelosi, for her part, put out a statement Monday night <a href="https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2019/11/pelosi-usmca-compromise-within-range-1831094" target="_blank" class="">saying a deal was “within range”</a> but that she wants to see “our progress in writing from the trade representative for final review.” </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">USTR did not immediately reply to a request for comment. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">Labor enforcement has been the main
issue holding up an agreement between House Democrats and the
administration. AFL-CIO has been pushing for a major upgrade to the deal
that would give the U.S. almost unilateral authority to block goods at
the border suspected of violating the agreement’s labor rules, according
to people briefed on the talks. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">The labor group’s initial proposal
would have been similar to the Lacey Act, a law passed in 1900 that
allowed U.S. customs officials to seize imports of illegally harvested
plants or animals. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">Organized labor has been seeking a
more direct way to hold countries accountable for violations of labor
rules in trade deals after the U.S. lost its first — and only — formal
labor trade dispute. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">In that case, the AFL-CIO petitioned
the U.S. to pursue action against Guatemala under the Central America
Free Trade Agreement. But the slow-moving, nine-year dispute with
Guatemala resulted in a defeat. Ever since, labor groups have advocated
for an enhanced enforcement mechanism.</p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">The Trump administration had tried to
address some of those concerns in USMCA by changing the legal standard
that resulted in the Guatemala loss and updating language in NAFTA so
countries couldn’t block the formation of dispute panels. But unions
complained that didn't go far enough. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">USTR rejected the AFL-CIO’s initial
proposal based on the Lacey Act as unworkable. Lighthizer is said to
have agreed to have goods stopped at the border as a penalty, but he
wanted it done as the result of arbitration between governments. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">Mexico has insisted that it won't
support any provision that would allow the U.S. to send inspectors
inside its borders to look into facilities. Seade told Inside U.S. Trade
last week that a process that would allow for Mexican goods to be
blocked at the border is “just absurd.” </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">Seade has repeatedly told reporters
during trips to Washington that he has made clear to Lighthizer what
Mexico will and will not accept. A person close to the talks also
confirmed to POLITICO that Seade has reminded Lighthizer as recently as
this week that Mexico has already upheld its commitments under USMCA and
will not accept “intrusive” enforcement measures. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">“Certain sectors, including labor, are
making certain statements sharing ideas that would be totally
unacceptable for Mexico. So we’ve made clear: ‘It can’t go down that
road,’” Seade said during a press conference with Mexican President
Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday. </p><p class=" story-text__paragraph">"Mexico has done a lot; it has done
everything required," Seade said. "We’ve participated in a constructive
way. Now, let’s turn the page and pass this." </p><div class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div class="">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; " class=""><div class="">Arthur Stamoulis</div><div class="">Citizens Trade Campaign</div><div class="">(202) 494-8826</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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