Democrats Meet on Changes in New Nafta to Prepare for Vote

(Bloomberg) -- House Democrats plan to meet for the first time Wednesday to discuss changes they want in President Donald Trump’s new North American trade deal, paving the way for a vote to take place later this year.

The nine-member working group will discuss possible revisions to be proposed to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, said Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat.

Democratic concerns with the agreement include provisions regarding labor, the environment, pharmaceuticals and overall enforcement mechanisms. Blumenauer, one of the lead negotiators on drug pricing, said he wants to pick one of the four issues and “knock it off,” one at a time.

“My goal is sometime that people feel that all four of these items have been addressed,” Blumenauer said. “Whether they are perfect I don’t know.”

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada deal, intended to would modernize but not fundamentally change the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, is the Trump administration’s top legislative priority this year. Talks on the accord have accelerated this month since Trump decided not to impose tariffs on all Mexican imports because of unrelated immigration issues.

Quick Decision

If Lighthizer is willing to be flexible, Blumenauer said, lawmakers should be able to figure out a path forward.

Speaking during a committee hearing on Trump’s trade agenda Wednesday, Lighthizer told Blumenauer he is ready to engage and is confident he can quickly find solutions that would satisfy Democrats because he agrees almost entirely with the changes they are demanding.

“I could sit down with the members that I have to sit down with on the labor provision and come to a decision within half a day,” Lighthizer said. “I don’t need weeks or months.”

Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, the Democrats’ lead negotiator, sought assurances from Lighthizer that the administration wouldn’t rush the process. Lighthizer agreed, but pushed back on the premise of the question, noting that the agreement has been public and signed for many months.

“I don’t believe that waiting nine months to get to the point when you can make improvements is rushing anything,” Lighthizer said. “We’re in a position where the members know what they want, I know what the members want, it’s a question of sitting down and deciding where the lines are and what can be done and what can’t be done.”

August Timeline

Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky, who is working with Blumenauer on the drug pricing provisions, said there was no deadline for the working group to come up with conclusions.

“We feel no sense of urgency,” she said in an interview Tuesday, adding that members will soon offer their proposals to Lighthizer.

The White House is pushing for a vote on the deal before the congressional August recess, but Democrats say they need to build consensus within their caucus before voting. Connecticut Representative John Larson, also part of the USMCA working group, praised Lighthizer and expressed confidence a vote can be held this summer.

“He is obviously sincere,” Larson said in an interview. “Getting it done by August is possible. We’ll see.”

Wisconsin Democrat Ron Kind was less hopeful; he said passing the USMCA by August is “doubtful.”

“Usually when a trade agreement is up it’s a full court press from the administration. This is a one-man show, it’s just Bob,” Kind said, in reference to Lighthizer. “Where’s the treasury secretary, the commerce secretary, the agriculture secretary?”

Kind said Lighthizer needs to quickly offer the committee a specific “action plan” for addressing Democratic concerns.

“What we have now is a game of chicken where neither side wants to make a proposal first,” the lawmaker said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net;Jenny Leonard in Washington at jleonard67@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton, Laurie Asséo

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