Democrats Say Working Group 'Upbeat' About Getting USMCA Fixes

When Democrats met in the House of Representatives the morning after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally initiated an impeachment inquiry, the bulk of the meeting was an optimistic briefing on the progress toward refining the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to satisfy Democratic priorities.

Dean Phillips, a freshman Democrat from Minnesota, and one of the "majority makers" who defeated a Republican incumbent, said the working group told the caucus that they're making good progress on the new NAFTA deal, though there's still more work to do. He said he believes the majority of House Democrats are hoping the administration makes enough edits that they can vote for the USMCA, as he does.

"In light of the news of the last couple of days, I think it's even more important we work towards that end," he said in a Sept. 25 hallway interview. "I think we have to show the American people that Congress can walk and chew gum at the same time, and the USMCA is important. We often let the perfect stand in the way of the much-improved, and this might be an example of that, but I have hope and confidence that we're on the right path and can get it done expeditiously."

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, during a briefing with reporters, said he doesn't think the impeachment inquiry will have any impact on House prospects for ratifying the deal.

President Donald Trump, speaking in New York, contradicted the U.S. Trade Representative, who said he was confident Congress would ratify USMCA. “I don’t think Nancy Pelosi will have time,” Trump said. “She’s wasting her time on a -- you know let’s use a word that they used to use a lot -- a ‘manufactured crisis.’”

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said that discussions of impeachment during the meeting were in a "totally separate silo" from discussion of ratifying the USMCA. "Really, it was sort of extraordinary that the morning after yesterday's announcement, the bulk of the caucus [time] was devoted to a completely different issue."

Courtney said that the working group was "upbeat. There's been real flexibility on the part of [U.S. Trade Representative Robert] Lighthizer, which defies the conventional wisdom around here, that it's going to be a take-it-or-leave-it kind of choice." Courtney said the working group did not tell caucus members how far the administration has moved on biologics, enforcement or other issues. "Having said that, I've known [Rep.] Rosa [DeLauro] long enough, if she felt this thing was not moving on biologics, the walls would have been shaking," he said with a laugh. DeLauro, a fellow Connecticut Democrat, was one of the leading opponents of NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and is on the working group.

Courtney said Democrats are worried about how Mexicans are going to fund and execute their labor reforms. "I just think people need a lot more confidence," he said. He acknowledged that with regard to funding, "if that were the final sticking point, there ought to be a way to have the three countries come together to solve it."

Courtney said he didn't believe that the working group was trying to put a falsely cheerful gloss on difficult negotiations.

He said no deadline was given for bringing the deal to the floor, "but I get the sense that this is something in this calendar year would be a goal for the Speaker."