New Democrats Say It's Not Time to Advance USMCA Ratification Process
Leaders of the generally pro-trade New Democrat Coalition warned the U.S. trade representative not to send an implementing bill for the new NAFTA to Congress on July 9. Rep. Derek Kilmer, chairman of the New Dems, and Rep. Gregory Meeks, co-chairman of the group's trade task force, spoke to reporters July 8 about why they sent a letter that day to USTR warning him off.
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The first day the administration could send that implementing bill is July 9, and that would start a 90-day clock to a vote under fast track. But in the past, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has taken trade agreements out of fast track when she felt they were not sufficient to gain significant Democratic support. "We hear there is talk of the administration sending up an implementing bill tomorrow. Let me indicate that would be a bad move," Meeks, D-N.Y., said.
Some Republicans in the House of Representatives have complained that Pelosi is harming the economy by delaying a vote, and that the bill could pass with Republicans and a few dozen Democratic votes. Those votes would be expected to come from the New Dems, and Meeks said they're not there yet. "We would oppose the House considering the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)] before the working group has had chance to find common ground," he said. "Sending it up without additional consultation from the Democratic leadership in Congress, I believe, violates TPA [fast track] and puts the whole thing in jeopardy."
Meeks said that by being patient, the administration has the opportunity to show it's serious about working with Democrats. "It makes no sense to rush it up," he said.
Kilmer, D-Wash., said they want Democratic leadership to pair another piece of domestic legislation with a ratification vote. He said they should seek to get assurances from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the president that the other program would get a vote if the House ratifies the USMCA. Kilmer offered a higher minimum wage, infrastructure, or a job-skills training program as examples of worthy legislation to pair with the trade deal. "We’ve seen significant dramatic disruptive economic change," he said, so Congress should be "ensuring we are also driving policies to help Americans navigate that change."
Given the fact that Republicans don't agree with Democrats on how to pay for infrastructure investments, International Trade Today asked if that wouldn't make passage even harder. Meeks said: "To me, hard is relative. You have to push the domestic priorities whether it’s hard or not. A lot of the issues that Derek talked about are bipartisan issues."
Neither Kilmer nor Meeks is on the working group that is negotiating with USTR Robert Lighthizer on how to change the trade deal to make enforcement stronger, and to bolster the labor and environmental provisions. New Democrat Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., is in the working group, and she told them it's still just at the "initial conversations." Kilmer said with regard to enforcement, there are New Democrats who have complained about the toothless state-to-state dispute settlement system and about the fact that past administrations have not brought labor enforcement cases.