Lawmakers Say USMCA Remains on Back Burner

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, thinks passing the new NAFTA is urgent, but he acknowledged that not much will happen on Capitol Hill until the White House offers its implementing legislation. "The timeline begins when the president sends the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement] up to Congress, so we don't worry about it until then," he said. Grassley said that while the administration is deciding how to lift the metals tariffs on Canada and Mexico, he is planning to talk to Democrats about what they need to have changed in the agreement to vote yes. "I would like to have very specifically set out what it takes in the area of environment, labor and enforcement to satisfy the Democrats," Grassley said in a phone call with reporters Feb. 26. He said again that whatever they're asking for has to be accomplished without reopening negotiations (see 1902130049).

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also reiterated that Congress hasn't really begun to grapple with the rewritten trade deal (see 1902130038). "I've had a very, very brief, like 30-second conversation with one of the White House representatives," he said during a sit-down with reporters in his Capitol office. He said the liaison asked if there had been any discussion in the Democratic Caucus on the NAFTA replacement, and Hoyer replied no. "When I say that, I want to make it clear, it's not a question of ignoring it, it's just that the administration hasn't made much of a push at this point in time, but I presume they will be pretty soon."