WASHINGTON -- The administration is making progress resolving House Democrats' objections to a proposed North American trade deal in talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Robert Lighthizer, the president's chief trade negotiator, told lawmakers on Tuesday.
"My hope is that over the next couple of weeks we can make substantial progress," Lighthizer told members of the Senate Finance Committee. "I believe we're on track."
The trade chief, who has said he wants bipartisan support for the deal, praised Pelosi as "completely fair and above board" in their ongoing dialogue.
The speaker has established working groups of House Democrats to work on revisions to the agreement's labor, environment, pharmaceuticals and enforcement terms.
The administration is pushing for Congress to quickly approve the new deal -- a replacement for the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement -- before breaking for August recess, but Democrats say they don't want to rush the process.
But Pelosi, and other senior Democrats, say the proposed U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement must be reopened to add tougher enforcement provisions -- something the administration says is unnecessary.
Lighthizer called the pact the "strongest, most momentous agreement in U.S. history," adding that it would "help stop the outflow of manufacturing jobs and return many to the United States."
The deal is "completely enforceable," Lighthizer said, adding that he would work with lawmakers to make it "even more enforceable."
He also said he'll address Democrats' concerns about the risk that the deal will prop up American drug prices. Democratic Sen. Deborah Stabenow of Michigan said the U.S. "cannot be in a position" where the agreement would make it harder to change U.S. laws to make pharmaceuticals cheaper. Lighthizer said the agreement wouldn't bind the U.S. or prevent such actions.
During the hearing, some Republicans made the case for quick approval of the deal. Sen. Rob Portman from Ohio said it'll come down to a choice between the status quo -- the outdated agreement -- and the new one, including many improvements that both parties like.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was signed by leaders in November, needs approval by legislators in all three countries to take effect. President Donald Trump's surprise proposal this month to impose tariffs on all Mexican imports over border-security concerns threatened to derail the plan, but it's now back on track after the president got a migration deal and dropped his threat.
Lighthizer spoke shortly after Trump confirmed he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of this month at the Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan.
Trump wrote on Twitter that the two men would have an "extended meeting" in hopes of breaking a deadlock in U.S.-China trade negotiations. The talks broke down in early May after Lighthizer accused the Chinese government of reneging on several provisions they had tentatively accepted.
Lighthizer spoke as companies were urging the administration to abandon plans for further tariffs on Chinese imports in the second of seven planned days of hearings by the the Office of the Trade Representative. More than 300 industry representatives are scheduled to testify, most in opposition to the president's proposed 25% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese goods.
Information for this article was contributed by David J. Lynch of The Washington Post; and by Jenny Leonard and Erik Wasson of Bloomberg News.
Business on 06/19/2019