Trump Should Address Failures to Meet Expectations on Trade in Speech to Congress, House Democrats Say
Liberal House Democrats called on President Donald Trump to address how future U.S. trade agreements will take into account currency manipulation, food safety and organized labor, among other areas, during his speech before a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28. Reps. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Pete DeFazio of Oregon also complained that Trump hasn’t delivered on trade promises since taking office, during a Feb. 28 call with reporters ahead of the speech.
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Trump is already beyond the congressional notification deadline to start NAFTA renegotiation within his first 100 days of office, something Trump said during his campaign he'd do, the lawmakers said. Trump would have had to provide Congress notice by Jan. 30 to legally start renegotiating NAFTA within his first 100 days because the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority requires presidents to inform Congress in writing of their intent to negotiate agreements 90 days before starting international negotiations.
DeLauro also hammered Trump for not declaring China a currency manipulator on his first day in office, which he promised during his campaign to do. “Tonight, [Trump] ought to present concrete steps going forward on trade,” DeLauro said. “If he does not, we intend to hold him accountable.” DeFazio called for Trump to start NAFTA renegotiations and to notify Congress soon, and said Trump will likely need Democrats to champion his envisioned trade policy, as the trade views of top Republicans in Congress diverge from Trump’s.
Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan, whose district includes Flint, largely blamed NAFTA for 90 percent of jobs leaving that city since conclusion of the agreement. He called for a renegotiated deal to include enforceable provisions on currency manipulation and rules of origin that improve upon the current 62.5 percent threshold for North American-made automobiles to receive preferential treatment under the deal. “I hope, tonight, we hear President Trump make specific policy proposals,” Kildee said. “That’s what he promised to do. It’s our job to hold him to those promises.”
House Democrats on the call also said they have had sparse communication with the new administration on trade matters so far. DeFazio said that he has not received a response from the Trump administration regarding trade policy engagement with his office that DeFazio requested during a Jan. 3 rollout of the “21st Century Workers’ Bill of Rights” (here) developed for hoped-for inclusion in future trade agreements. DeLauro seconded that, saying the administration hasn’t responded to a Jan. 3 letter she wrote to Trump requesting that any NAFTA renegotiation take worker and community considerations into account (see 1701040071). Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio also said no one from the administration has reached out to him. The White House didn’t comment.