Brady Points to Customs Changes as Potential Major Win in NAFTA
After a visit at the White House, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, told reporters at the Capitol that he told the president that the next step after tax reform is expanding export opportunities. "NAFTA was a good part of our discussions," he said Feb. 26. "I think there's potential major wins for President [Donald] Trump in NAFTA." Brady pointed to improvements in customs, digital trade, intellectual property and agriculture.
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When asked if he had a sense of what the president might do on Section 232 tariffs, Brady said that "a number of us are going back tomorrow" and that's likely to be part of the discussion. Earlier in the day, Trump told governors at the White House that he'd like to bring the steel industry back into the U.S. "If that takes tariffs, let it take tariffs, OK? Maybe it will cost a little bit more, but we’ll have jobs," he said. "Let it take tariffs. I want to bring aluminum back into our country. These plants are all closing or closed." The Aluminum Association has said it believes negotiated settlement with China on overproduction is the solution, rather than tariffs (see 1802230018).
Brady will be leading a bipartisan delegation to Mexico City this weekend to talk with Office of the U.S. Trade Representative officials, as well as Mexican and Canadian counterparts. He said Trump is aware of the need to develop NAFTA 2.0 in close consultation with Congress, as that body will have to approve any deal. How many more rounds might come in NAFTA is unclear. Brady said, "My view is always the same. Don't rush it. Get it right." Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a brief Feb. 27 interview he's hopeful that Congress can prevent a full NAFTA withdrawal, if necessary. Congress could pass a law keeping the trade agreement, but it would need a veto-proof majority. Asked whether there would be such a majority in Congress, Hatch said, "I would hope so."