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The Senate Finance Committee will not hold a mock markup of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement implementing bill, trade subcommittee Chairman John Cornyn (R-TX) said on Thursday, lamenting what he called a break from decades of precedent.
More details on the new standards are in the “protocol of amendment” published this week.
BRT: “We are very disappointed that the deal announced yesterday removes or weakens important intellectual property protections.”
“They dropped it due to pressure from industry and the many members of Congress who expressed concern.”
Public Citizen's Lori Wallach said the deal was “not the template for future agreements, but establishes the floor from which we will continue to advocate for a new model of trade and globalization.”
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement will not be brought to a vote in the Senate before it adjourns for the year, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on Tuesday, adding that the deal likely will be voted on after the Senate concludes its impeachment trial of President Trump.
At a signing ceremony for an addendum to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on Tuesday, Mexico’s chief trade negotiator disputed “declarations” he said were made in the U.S. by insisting Mexico did not accept a labor-enforcement mechanism involving the deployment of U.S. inspectors.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Ways & Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), along with other Democrats, on Tuesday unveiled new tweaks to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and said a vote on an implementing bill could come as soon as next week.
“President Trump may have opened this deal,” President Richard Trumka said in a statement. “But working people closed it. And for that, we should be very proud.”
After discussing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Monday evening, key House Democrats said they expected an announcement of an adjusted deal to be made on Tuesday, when top officials from the three countries are slated to meet in Mexico.
Morneau: “These companies are international and we want to make sure they pay their fair share in tax and don’t find a way around it.”
President Trump on Monday said he was “hearing from unions” that end-stage U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement discussions were turning a corner, lauding what he called an abundance of “strides over the last 24 hours” amid reports that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was planning to travel to Mexico on Tuesday.
After consulting the Mexican Senate on proposed changes to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Sunday that his government would consider accepting a late-stage U.S. steel demand if it is implemented more than five years after the pact enters into force.
Despite new U.S. demands that have further complicated U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement talks, Mexican Under Secretary for North America Jesús Seade on Friday expressed confidence that all issues could be resolved.
A new wrench has been thrown into U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations between Mexican Under Secretary for North America Jesús Seade and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a key lawmaker told reporters on Thursday.
A major Mexican business group this week contended that some labor proposals recently advanced by Washington to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will do the opposite and pledged to support countermoves by the Mexican government if necessary.
“As it is, the window of opportunity for 2019 is extremely tight.”
The Mexican government has received U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement proposals crafted by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and a group of House Democrats, Mexico’s chief trade negotiator said on Wednesday, adding that he initially had found them acceptable.
President Trump on Monday said the speaker “should put it up for a vote because, at some point pretty soon, you're going to have Canada and you're going have Mexico say, 'What's going on? Send the agreement back. Let's not make the deal.'”