Grassley Says Mexico, Canada Won't Ratify New NAFTA if Section 232 Tariffs Aren't Lifted
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said that neither Mexican nor Canadian politicians will ratify the new NAFTA as long as those two countries are subject to U.S. Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. Grassley, who was speaking to reporters on a conference call Feb. 12, has said in the past that Canadian and Mexican retaliatory tariffs reacting to those tariffs have to be lifted in order to get the new NAFTA through Congress (see 1901090041).
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Grassley spoke with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and the Mexican ambassador last week. He said that it's very, very important that the White House lift these tariffs soon, because if the Canadian Parliament doesn't vote on the pact before June, it will be on hold until after the country's national elections in October.
Grassley has repeatedly said he's against reopening NAFTA negotiations, which many Democrats have said is necessary to make changes to the pact. He was asked directly whether it would be worth it to reopen talks to reduce the number of years of biologic drugs' exclusivity. Democrats have seized upon that 10-year period as a give-away to "Big Pharma" (see 1902070020). "I'm with the Democrats about doing something about the cost of prescription drugs," Grassley said, but he said that this is not an avenue he's open to. "I don't want to do anything to mess around with [the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or] USMCA. I want to get it passed," he said.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in response to a question at the Capitol from International Trade Today on Feb. 12, said the revised NAFTA "lacks enforcement authority on both labor and environment, and unless it gets that enforcement authority, [Trump] is going to have trouble getting a lot of Democrats to vote for it."
Grassley said he can work with Democrats on side letters on the environment, labor or enforcement, but not changes to the main text, which would require new talks. And, he said, Mexicans don't want that either. "Mexico's had their belly full of these negotiations," he said. "They want to get it done."