White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Friday that the administration was “very, very close” to pushing Congress to vote on its trade deal with Mexico without Canada involved in the deal. Some in Congress view Canada’s assent as necessary to prevent the deal from potentially upsetting the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“We’re still talking to Canada, and we’re getting very, very close to the deadline where we’re going to have to move ahead with Mexico all by themselves,” Hassett said in an interview with Fox News.
Administration officials have been in talks with Canada for weeks in an effort to reach an agreement. While the administration has steadfastly maintained that Canada’s sign-off is not needed for the bilateral U.S.-Mexico deal, many lawmakers have urged the administration to bring Canada on board before bringing it Congress for a vote.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland was in Washington this week to work toward a deal, but departed Thursday evening with an agreement still not announced.
[Related: Canada open to dealing on dairy, addressing key issue in NAFTA talks: Report]
Hassett expressed frustration that the efforts had gone on so long. “I’m a little surprised that the Canadians haven’t signed up yet,” he said. “I worry that politics in Canada is trumping common sense because there’s a very good deal that was designed by Mexico and the U.S. to appeal to Canada. And they’re not signing up and it’s got everybody over here a little bit puzzled.”
The administration is under increasing pressure to get the deal negotiated with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto approved, seeing Oct. 1 as the deadline needed under Trade Promotion Authority, the law governing submitting trade deals to Congress. Should that deadline be missed Trump will have to get’s Mexico’s incoming president, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrado, to agree to it.
The U.S.-Mexico deal alters the so-called “rules of origin” under NAFTA by setting at 75 percent the amount of North American-made parts needed for a car or truck to be duty-free under NAFTA, up from 62.5 percent. It also required that at least 40 percent of all auto content be made by workers making at least $16 an hour or its equivalent.
An agreement with Canada has been held up over issue involving its use of dairy price supports and concern over the the U.S.-Mexican deal’s impact on Chapter19 of NAFTA, which involves settling disputes over levies and anti-dumping rules. Maintaining the provision was a key concern for Canada. The U.S.-Mexican deal scraps it.
