Democrats Warn Trump Not to Threaten Congress With NAFTA Withdrawal
Leaders of the New Democrat Coalition, who traditionally vote for free trade deals, expressed their frustration that the U.S. trade representative is not telling them what is happening in NAFTA negotiations. At a press conference April 26, Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., Rep. Kendrick Meeks, D-N.Y., and Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., said they need to know where NAFTA is headed. "We're getting the sense more and more" that the administration intends to bring a rewritten NAFTA as a fait accompli, Kind said. "I would suggest their tactics are wrong and they shouldn't take these votes for granted," Larsen said.
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The group was supposed to have a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on April 26, but he could not attend because he is negotiating with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts. They said they understood that, but that his cancellation is part of a pattern. "This is not the first time we've been canceled. We've been trying to engage the trade representative from the very beginning," Meeks said. "When it comes to trade, you could not pass a bill without us."
A USTR spokeswoman said, "Ambassador Lighthizer is meeting with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts" on NAFTA and is "rescheduling his meeting with the New Democrat Coalition, as well as meetings with other Republican and Democrat Members of Congress that were originally scheduled" for the same day. "Since the beginning of NAFTA negotiations in August 2017, USTR has consistently provided proposed text, including the labor text, to Congress," said the spokeswoman. "NAFTA text is available in House and Senate secure rooms for review by any Member of Congress. USTR has also consulted extensively with Congress, spending over 2,500 man-hours on NAFTA consultations with Congress."
Kind also referred to reports that the administration could announce it is withdrawing from NAFTA at the same time it brings a new NAFTA to Congress, forcing Congress to take the deal or have no NAFTA at all. "We do not want them to come to Congress at the end of the year, threatening to withdraw from NAFTA unless we vote for a bad negotiated deal. That would be a horrible way to approach this issue," he said. Kind said he doesn't know if that will be the administration's strategy, but it troubles him that "they're even contemplating that."
Larsen said that while the caucus has traditionally supported free trade, trade is not a religion, it is politics. "It's hard to go home and make the sale if the administration isn't doing outreach well ahead of dropping a negotiated deal," he said. The group also sent a letter to USTR expressing their concerns about the lack of consultation. The office of the USTR did not respond to a request for comment.