“That’s the most amorphous piece of this: When is the caucus happy enough that she feels confident moving this? Hard to say,’’ said the National Foreign Trade Council’s Vanessa Sciarra, referring to Pelosi.
Labor, Drugs
Some Democrats are calling for changes to sections of USMCA dealing with labor standards and drug patents.
The pact commits Mexico to reform its labor laws to allow workers to engage in collective bargaining. But senior Democrats have said the commitments are lacking teeth without adequate enforcement provisions.
America’s biggest federation of labor unions, the AFL-CIO, has said it won’t support USMCA in its current form, and would oppose it if the business community forced a “premature” vote. “What we hear on the Hill is the same thing we’re saying: It’s not ready to be voted on,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said on Bloomberg TV Friday.
Democrats also aren’t enthusiastic about a drug patent provision that would force Mexico and Canada to extend protection for biologic drugs, warning it could raise prices for consumers.
Steel, Aluminum
Mexico and Canada have warned they may not ratify USMCA unless the U.S. lifts tariffs on steel and aluminum. The duties are also unpopular with lawmakers from Trump’s own Republican Party.
Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate finance committee, said the agreement wouldn’t be considered as long as the duties remain in place.
The administration is considering replacing the tariffs with quotas, which are equally, if not more, unpopular with many lawmakers as well as Mexico and Canada.