For President Donald Trump’s new North American trade accord to become law, he’ll need the help of a political rival with a track record of blocking such deals.
In 2008, Nancy Pelosi was House Speaker when Democratic lawmakers denied President George W. Bush’s request for a vote within 90 days on a trade pact with Colombia. The rejection delayed approval of deals the Bush administration negotiated with South Korea and Panama, though all three were later ratified.
Once again Speaker, Pelosi will play a pivotal role for Trump’s renegotiated accord with Mexico and Canada, renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which isn’t one of her legislative priorities. It’s a change of pace from the frenetic year of negotiations that led to the deal being signed by leaders from all three countries in November.
“If the House doesn’t want to move on this, it doesn’t have to move. So it’s really up to her,” said Edward Alden, a trade expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Left-Tilting Tent
Pelosi is expected to only move the deal through the House if she can find a critical mass of her caucus supporting it and if she extracts concessions unrelated to trade from the White House in return, senior congressional aides say.
Asked to comment, Pelosi’s office referred to remarks she made this month in which the speaker said she and other Democrats are still weighing USMCA’s provisions on the environment, labor, pharmaceuticals and enforcement before deciding whether to support it.
With 60 new Democratic members who still have to familiarize themselves with their districts’ priorities and the content of the trade deal, the biggest challenge is educating lawmakers, the aides said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is expected to meet with freshman members in the coming weeks to make his case.
Lighthizer has been wooing Democrats to support the updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Sympathetic groups could include the New Democrat Coalition, which includes 100 lawmakers who back pro-growth policies.
He may face a tougher challenge on the party’s left flank. Outspoken rookie lawmakers such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who identifies as a democratic socialist and backs a sweeping spending plan to reduce carbon emissions called the “Green New Deal,” have driven the Democratic agenda since the November election.