Trump Upbeat on Trade Deal With Mexico, Canada
December 09 2019 - 4:09PM
Dow Jones News
By William Mauldin and Natalie Andrews
WASHINGTON -- President Trump on Monday reported significant
progress on reaching a deal with House Democrats and Mexican
officials on a revised version of a new North American trade
pact.
"I'm hearing a lot of strides have been made over the last 24
hours, with unions and others," Mr. Trump told reporters. "And I
hope they put it up for a vote, and if they put it up for a vote,
it's going to pass."
Later Monday, a Trump administration official said that U.S.
Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Jared Kushner, a senior
adviser to the president, were expected to travel to Mexico Tuesday
to meet with officials on revisions to the pact originally signed
last year.
The Trump administration is trying to bridge the gap with House
Democrats and Mexico City on amendments to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada
Agreement. Democrats, backed by unions, want greater ability to
enforce USMCA's new labor rules aimed at Mexico.
The AFL-CIO hosted a conference call Monday afternoon with
leaders of its constituent unions to discuss whether to accept the
current progress at the negotiating table or potentially ask
Democrats and U.S. officials to seek more concessions from Mexico,
according to people familiar with the call.
Representatives for the AFL-CIO didn't respond to requests for
comment.
Mr. Trump discussed the trade deal by phone Monday with Richard
Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, a White House official said.
House Democratic leadership is reviewing a response from Mr.
Lighthizer on what Mexico would agree to, but hasn't decided yet
whether to support it, said a senior Democratic aide. Progressive
Democrats would be unlikely to support the emerging deal if labor
unions opposed it.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa)
spoke with Mr. Lighthizer Monday and said he is hopeful there will
be a deal announced soon, a spokesman said.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that
the latest proposal for modifying USMCA was presented to the
Mexican senators and informally approved.
"We have done our part, and we consider that it's a good
agreement for our countries, very appropriate for the people of the
U.S., of Canada and of Mexico," said Mr. López Obrador, urging
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) to move ahead with
ratification. "I think now is the right moment."
The prospect of passing USMCA, a priority for Mr. Trump, around
the same time as the House is considering impeachment is creating
some logistical hurdles. On the political side, however, it allows
some House Democrats facing tough races next year to show
constituents that they can hold Mr. Trump to account and nearly
simultaneously move forward on shared policy priorities.
The Senate is likely to take up the trade agreement in January,
a GOP aide said. Even though the chamber is expected to be in the
midst of Mr. Trump's impeachment trial, the Senate could debate and
vote on the trade agreement in the morning, before the trial starts
in the afternoon. The deal is expected to pass the Senate.
The Trump administration and House Democrats didn't elaborate on
the differences between the previous version of USMCA that was
signed in 2018 and the current version that may be headed for
congressional consideration.
Andrew Restuccia, Anthony Harrup and Alex Leary contributed to
this article.
Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com and Natalie
Andrews at Natalie.Andrews@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 09, 2019 16:54 ET (21:54 GMT)
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