By William Mauldin and Siobhan Hughes
WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration is pushing hard to finish
talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement over the next two
weeks and is considering bare-knuckle tactics to get Congress to
approve a new deal.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled his willingness
to withdraw from Nafta entirely if he doesn't get a renegotiated
deal he deems more favorable to American workers.
The administration used the same strategy to bring Canada and
Mexico to the table. But some in Congress -- especially members of
the GOP -- say they are prepared to resist the approach if it is
turned on them.
"I have advised them very unambiguously that would be a very bad
strategy for the administration to pursue," said Sen. Pat Toomey
(R., Pa.), who has been talking to White House officials.
Lawmakers have ultimate constitutional authority over tariffs as
well as tools and levers to promote their own agenda and delay or
derail unwanted policy from the executive branch.
Asked about the congressional strategy for Nafta on Monday,
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said, "Those conversations
and negotiations are ongoing."
U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer met behind closed
doors Friday with senior Canadian and Mexican officials, who said
they would regroup Tuesday as part of a continuous round of intense
negotiations, with lower-level officials working through the
weekend.
"Basically there has been very good progress and we'll continue
working nonstop," Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said
Friday after talks in Washington. "Our teams will continue working
permanently."
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the talks
"certainly are in a more intensive period of the negotiations, and
we are making good progress."
The three countries are eager to complete an agreement in
principle within two weeks to renew the 24-year-old pact, so that a
final deal can be signed before the Mexican presidential election
July 1 and before the window closes for consideration in Congress
this year.
It isn't clear whether pressure from the Trump administration
will work with Congress. For starters, some legal experts disagree
over whether Mr. Trump -- or any president -- has the ability to
completely withdraw from Nafta, which is the basis of his leverage
over Congress. "They can give notice, but they can't actually
withdraw without congressional action," said Mr. Toomey.
Mr. Lighthizer has called for tighter rules about how much North
American content a car or auto part has to have to qualify for
duty-free trade; changes to procurement rules to limit foreign
firms' access to government contracts in the U.S.; a weakening of
dispute-settlement provisions in Nafta; and other changes to
promote U.S. agricultural and industrial interests.
The administration's urgency over Nafta is worrying U.S.
lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Republicans are concerned Mr. Lighthizer will place a higher
priority on the administration's "America first" proposals, which
are largely unpopular with international businesses, over issues
closer to businesses in their states.
GOP lawmakers have criticized Mr. Lighthizer's efforts to scale
back or completely get rid of a Nafta provision known as
investor-state dispute settlement, which lets companies challenge
foreign governments and win compensation when they are mistreated
abroad. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah), the chairman of the Senate's
trade committee, asked Mr. Lighthizer a week ago to pursue stronger
copyright protections in Nafta.
On the Democratic side, lawmakers and their supporters among
labor unions agree with the Trump administration's approach to
trade, but some are worried Mr. Lighthizer will step back from
those priorities to get a quick deal.
"As NAFTA is renegotiated over the next couple of weeks, I want
to remind President Trump that the deal should eliminate its
outsourcing incentives and add strong labor and environmental
provisions," Rep. Tim Ryan (D., Ohio) said last week in a message
on Twitter.
Ninety-seven House Democrats wrote a letter to Mr. Lighthizer
last week to demand higher labor standards in Nafta and Mexican
law, a shift that U.S. workers hope will increase wages south of
the border and deter outsourcing.
Officials involved in the talks want to wrap up a deal before
the Mexican presidential election, since a president-elect from a
different party would likely want to put a new stamp on the deal
before it is ratified. Canadian officials have softened their
criticism of the Trump administration's provisions as Mr.
Lighthizer has shown more flexibility on the pact's auto rules and
all three countries have agree to speed up the talks on the
accelerated timeline.
Administration supporters worry that the congressional midterm
election could lead to a big loss in Republican votes -- weakening
Mr. Trump's ability to get a new version passed.
Under 2015 trade legislation known as fast track, Mr. Trump is
entitled to a yes-or-no vote on trade agreements -- without
procedural delays or amendments in Congress -- provided the
administration follows set rules in negotiating and signing a
deal.
Under the next major step in fast track, also known as trade
promotion authority, the administration would notify Congress of
its intent to sign a trade agreement in 90 days. Sixty days before
the countries sign the deal, the full text of the agreement has to
be published, so an "agreement in principle" wouldn't be
sufficient. Staffers are discussing the possibility that the
administration will send the notification very soon, according to
one congressional aide.
Later, when Congress receives the legislation written to
implement the new Nafta, it has 90 days when lawmakers are in
session to vote for or against it.
To maximize the chances of a congressional vote this year,
officials say the complicated set of deadlines means the U.S. wants
to wrap up basic negotiations with Canada in Mexico in two weeks,
with details and a final text of the agreement coming shortly
afterward.
There is an "urgency to get something to Congress by
mid-December," said Lance Jungmeyer, the president of the Fresh
Produce Association of the Americas, after a meeting last week with
Mr. Lighthizer that also included Sen. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) and
other Arizona business people.
--Paul Vieira contributed to this article.
Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com and Siobhan
Hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 23, 2018 15:40 ET (19:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.