President Donald Trump sabotaged his so-called top priority, the renegotiated NAFTA, on two different fronts. First, by angering key House Democrats with his decision to start a procedural 30-day clock on the deal, in a ploy to place pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Second, by announcing he would impose escalating tariffs on June 10 on all goods imported from Mexico.<\/b>
\nVirginia Democrat Rep. Don Beyer, who is generally pro-trade and has opposed Trump’s tariffs in the past, questioned the moves in a tweet Thursday night:
New tariffs deeply endanger the trade deal’s chances in Mexico:
The timing on this is key: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known by his initials AMLO, had just on Thursday asked the Mexican Senate to convene a special session before their planned session in September in order to approve the USMCA. Mexico has already passed a new labor reform law to comply with the deal. And now there’s a chance that even if they decide to approve it \u2014 a difficult lift under current circumstances \u2014 all goods from the country could still face a 25% tariff in the US.
NAFTA largely got rid of existing tariffs between the three countries, and the USMCA is much of the same. Legislators will be hard-pressed to ratify a supposed free trade deal when Trump hasn’t given many specifics on what will be required, other than somehow stopping all illegal immigration, to lift the new tariffs. Officials in Mexico are still trying to avoid this outcome. In a letter Thursday night, AMLO urged Trump to reconsider. \u00ab\u00a0Remember that I don’t lack courage, that I am not a coward nor am I afraid to act on my principles: I believe in a politic that, among other things, invents ways to avoid confrontation and war,\u00a0\u00bb he wrote.
Republicans are worried, but it’s unclear if this will spur action to prevent Trump from moving ahead with the tariffs:
Republicans have been deferential to Trump in his trade war with China, but this is completely different \u2014Mexico is one of our closest trading partners, and Republicans overwhelmingly support free trade with the country.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley slammed the decision as a misuse of tariff authority on Thursday night, warning it could derail the trade deal.
\u00ab\u00a0I support nearly every one of President Trump’s immigration policies, but this is not one of them,\u00a0\u00bb Grassley said in a statement. Others have followed Grassley’s stance. Lindsey Graham, however, endorsed the move in a tweet Thursday night.
The dynamic here is a challenging one for Republicans. Trump is invoking these tariffs in the name of border security, something GOP lawmakers prefer to side with him on. In condemning the tariffs, Republicans have to walk a political tightrope. Take Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s statement, for example: \u00ab\u00a0While I support the need for comprehensive border security and a permanent fix to illegal immigration, this isn’t the right path forward. I’m asking the president to reconsider, and for Democrats to work with us to find a solution to the humanitarian crisis at our southern border.\u00a0\u00bb
The bottom line:
After Trump removed tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum a couple of weeks ago, some trade experts and lawmakers had hoped he was becoming more conciliatory and focused in his trade policy. They said that maybe — just maybe — he would prioritize his trade negotiations with China and avoid other fights as he worked to ensure ratification of the USMCA. After Thursday, it is clear that isn’t the case. Trump shot his trade team in the foot over a largely unrelated issue, and it could completely derail the deal. His decision to anger Democrats by starting the clock is at least recoverable \u2014negotiations could go well over the next 30 days, however unlikely it may seem. But ratifying the deal just became much more difficult overall.<\/p>\n