An adviser to Joe Biden is teaming up with GOP operatives to convince Congress to pass President Trump’s United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, which was negotiated as a replacement for the North America Free Trade Agreement.
According to a Friday report by Politico, John Anzalone, a senior Biden adviser and pollster, has joined Trade Works for America, which was founded by former Republican Party officials in February. The group’s war chest of over $10 million is funded by a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical and automotive companies, with the aim of making sure the new trade deal is ratified by Congress this year.
“We’re going to look closely at freshman Democrats in traditional Republican and Trump districts and also Republican members who voted against TPA [Trade Promotion Authority] who may need some encouragement,” Phil Cox, former executive director of the Republican Governors Association and a co-founder of the group, said in February.
One of the primary issues Trump used to distinguish himself from the other 2016 Republican presidential candidates was trade, where he repeatedly claimed the country was getting “ripped off” by bipartisan trade deals like NAFTA. Since entering the White House, the president has been reviewing and renegotiating a number of other trade agreements in the search for a better deal.
Anzalone did not return a request for comment.
Biden has remained silent on the USMCA during his campaign but has spoken favorably about the benefits of free trade. The USMCA is opposed by a number of labor unions, who say the new treaty does not sufficiently protect workers.
“The new NAFTA will not end the race to the bottom in the workplace, but it is by no means the only failure of this deal. It will also keep drug prices high by expanding monopoly power for brand-name pharmaceutical companies,” the AFL-CIO said in a March statement. “This provision will hurt workers in all three countries, but it will especially hurt Mexico’s workers”
Trump’s reelection campaign hopes to capitalize on Biden’s history on trade issues. On Wednesday, the president attacked Biden as potentially weak in trade negotiations with China.
“The reason for the China pullback & attempted renegotiation of the Trade Deal is the sincere HOPE that they will be able to ‘negotiate’ with Joe Biden or one of the very weak Democrats, and thereby continue to ripoff the United States (($500 Billion a year)) for years to come …” Trump tweeted.
Former advisers to the president predict Biden is vulnerable on the issue, citing his past support for NAFTA on TPP.
“The American people won’t forget that Biden fully supported TPP and NAFTA and all these other terrible deals that were made on his watch,” Trump’s former deputy campaign manager David Bossie, told the Atlantic Wednesday.
