Prominent Trade Advocate in House 'Disappointed' That USTR Didn't Compromise During August

Rep. Ron Kind, co-chairman of the New Democrats' trade task force, said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has done a good job on outreach, and sounding sympathetic to Democrats' complaints about enforceability, labor and other issues they want changed in the NAFTA rewrite. But Kind, who was speaking to reporters on a conference call from the Midwest on Sept. 4, said that "for some reason there's been a reluctance on sharing paper, putting words down" that would change the trade deal to satisfy these requests.

Kind, D-Wis., said the only written response of the USTR's office to the House Democrats' working group written proposals was on the issue of state-to-state dispute panel blocking. He's disappointed more wasn't achieved during August, he said in an interview. Even with the one concrete proposal on panel blocking, Kind said, "I think there's still some room for improvement there." He said he will be pressing House leadership to offer more specific language in the areas Democrats want changed.

"I’d hate to come back in September to fall back in this same rut of having these feel-good meetings," he said, where nothing really happens. "I see the Democratic caucus and the Democratic leadership working very hard to get to yes and sooner rather than later," he said. "But there has to be a lot of quick action here in early September with papers being exchanged between us and USTR to narrow the issues."

Drafting legislative language that Democrats can rally around won't be easy, he acknowledged, and Canada and Mexico will have to agree to what he characterized as minor changes. "Nobody’s talking about a wholesale renegotiation," Kind said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted Sept. 3 that he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke that day "about moving forward with the new NAFTA in order to support good, middle class jobs and create opportunities for people on both sides of the border. Thanks for the call, Nancy. Looking forward to our continued work on this."

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who also spoke with reporters this week on a conference call, said that Lighthizer told him that "he expects September to be the big month of working everything out with the House of Representatives to satisfy the Democrats and even hopefully get labor unions on board."

Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the most trade-skeptical member of the Democrats' working group, issued a statement Sept. 4 explaining how she agreed that a vote might not come until 2020 when asked by a reporter if that was possible.

“How quickly the NAFTA renegotiation moves is up the Trump administration’s willingness to incorporate critical changes for American workers. ... I gave my honest assessment that the changes Democrats are seeking for American workers and people who are paying too much for prescription drugs may take time. As we have said from the outset, we need changes to the text of the agreement to include strong, enforceable labor and environmental standards to stop the endless job outsourcing and pollution of our natural resources. The Trump administration must also take out extended monopoly provisions for pharmaceutical companies that will lock in skyrocketing prescription drug costs for biologics."

Kind is the lead Democratic sponsor of bills that would give Congress a say in the trade war, both with China and the Section 232 tariffs and quotas that are being applied everywhere outside of North America. When asked about those bills' lack of momentum in the House and Senate, Kind said that Pelosi and House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., are both "very interested" in his bills.

"Right now all eyes are on Sen. Grassley," Kind said. Grassley has asked his staff to seek a compromise between two Republican Finance Committee members' approaches to Section 232 reform, but they have not been able to do so for five months. Grassley told reporters recently that if a compromise bill is not reached, he will allow committee members to reach their own consensus through the amendment process (see 1908070058). Kind said, "Sen. Grassley’s been reluctant to move forward. Frankly, I don’t think he wants to get crosswise with the president."

Kind had no such reluctance, calling the administration's China trade war devastating, and saying that President Donald Trump doesn't have "any kind of vision, or long-term strategy, or exit ramp for this."