Pelosi Says USMCA Resolution Is 'Imminent'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that a resolution to the negotiations between the Democrats in the working group and the Trump administration on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is “imminent," and that she believes it can be a template for future trade agreements. Pelosi, D-Calif., who was speaking at her weekly press conference on Nov. 14, suggested that the AFL-CIO would not argue against a "yes" vote for the NAFTA rewrite. "I think we'll see what the implementation is, and the enforcement is, and I think it will be a value that is shared by our friends in labor as well as the Democrats in Congress," she said.

Pelosi said that in order to ratify the deal before Congress adjourns for the year Dec. 20, the implementing bill language would need to be ready just after the negotiations come to a conclusion. "We have an idea of what that would be," she said.

Working group member Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., told International Trade Today on Nov. 13 that the group had asked Pelosi and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., to weigh in on outstanding issues on labor enforcement, and that the working group, which Neal leads, and Pelosi would work out what the next ask would be. The staff "worked out a lot of issues over the break," Gomez said. Gomez and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., another working group member, said they will not meet with the U.S. trade representative this week.

One of the issues the working group is not addressing is the USTR's desire that his office have the authority to lower de minimis for Canadian and Mexican imports. A group of 130 House members -- led by the Trade Subcommittee chairman and ranking member -- told USTR in an October letter that they do not want that change to be in the implementing bill (see 1911130041).

Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., another signatory to the letter, said that the USTR never responded, even though it's been nearly a month since the letter was sent. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said they'll continue to push, because it's an important issue.

Kind, a leading pro-trade voice in the Democratic caucus, said, "It's time for there to be some agreement reached. We've been dragging this out for too long now." He said the final offers from both sides could come next week. "At least conceptionally, you can see the framework of an agreement now, but until you get the language, you really don't know." Kind said he doesn't know how much the administration is willing to help Mexico build its new labor court system, or what the enforcement language will be.

Whatever the administration and Democrats agree to, the Mexican government will have to agree to, as well. Jesus Seade, who represented Mexico's current administration in the NAFTA negotiations, tweeted Nov. 14 that the progress on the new NAFTA is going strong. "Our effort is constant (1) for a positive resolution in the U.S., and (2) so that all changes are acceptable, and in several points, excellent, for Mexico," he said.

Kenneth Smith Ramos, a top negotiator for the previous Mexican administration, was more wary in an opinion piece published this week. He said the signals out of Washington that Democrats are almost about to seal a deal with USTR are not time to break out the champagne.

"We have clear indications that the Democrats will continue to insist that Mexico accept the imposition of unilateral inspection visits to determine compliance with the provisions established in the Labor Chapter of the T-MEC," he wrote, using the Mexican acronym for the new NAFTA. "This is completely unacceptable."

Smith Ramos said a flood of labor disputes could follow, and it could result in export restrictions for Mexican businesses. He wrote that Mexico's government "has clearly indicated that it will not accept unilateral inspections, but that is not the only toxic issue in labor matters. There is also talk of a possible differentiated dispute resolution mechanism in which labor issues, of interest to the U.S., would enjoy a fast track or improved mechanism for the conformation of panels and resolution times, while [other] Mexican interest sectors (such as agriculture, textiles, or automotive) would not receive the same treatment."