Politico: USMCA working groups get to it
Washington,
June 14, 2019
House Democrats’ Trade Working Group features nine members tasked with resolving Democratic demands to overhaul certain parts of the new NAFTA deal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named lawmakers to the group this week, setting in motion a process for negotiating with the Trump administration. House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal will lead the group. Who’s on: The group is divided into four subgroups: drug pricing, labor, environment and enforcement. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) will lead the drug pricing team. Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) will head up the labor group. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and John Larson (D-Conn.) will tackle environmental issues. Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will work on enforcement. White House is hopeful: White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow said he met recently with President Donald Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and indicated the administration is still deferring to Pelosi on timing for bringing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to the floor. Republicans are pressing for a vote on the deal before the August recess or shortly after lawmakers return from the month-long break, but it’s unclear how quickly Pelosi’s team will work with Lighthizer. “I think, if and when the speaker gives us a vote, yeah, I think it will pass. I wouldn’t dare predict timing,” Kudlow said at a Thursday event at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “As I said earlier, I think the speaker has been very accommodative to us, given us a fair hearing on it. So, let’s be hopeful.” |
