White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Tuesday that a congressional vote on President Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade may not happen until the fall, something the Trump administration has previously sought to avoid.
Kudlow said he remained hopeful that a vote would happen earlier, but said that talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were progressing and the White House would not act until Pelosi was ready.
“I remain optimistic that she will provide a vote. It will happen sometime this summer, hopefully. It could stretch on to the autumn, but I think it will be sooner than that. It’s up to her, not me,” Kudlow told CNBC Tuesday. “[U.S. Trade Representative Robert] Lighthizer has said that we will submit the formal legislation when she gives a green light on the vote.”
The administration sent Pelosi notice last month that it was ready to submit the USMCA deal, which would replace the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. It has held off on formally submitting the text, however. Once the draft deal itself is submitted to Congress, the House has 60 days to vote on it, according to Trade Promotion Authority, the law covering congressional approval of deals. The scheduling of that vote is entirely up to Pelosi, who is not obligated to do it.
The speaker has criticized USMCA as lacking strong enough enforcement for its labor rights and environmental provisions but has been in regular talks with Lighthizer on how to resolve the disputes and has created “working groups” of other Democrats to meet with USTR officials. Pelosi previously said that the deal had to be reopened to new negotiations between the three countries in order to fix the remaining concerns, but Democratic leaders have since backed away from that.
Kudlow said he believed the speaker was working in good faith. “I think Speaker Pelosi has been very accommodating on this. I mean, Bob Lighthizer works very closely with her. I see her periodically. She’s been terrific,” he said.
Democrats have warned the white House not to submit the deal before Pelosi gives the OK. “We were troubled that you sent up the draft Statement of Administrative Action on May 30 without sufficient consultation, and strongly urge you not to make the same mistake twice,” the New Democrat Coalition said in a letter to Lighthizer Monday.
