Trump Administration Opens Marathon Nafta Hearings
June 27 2017 - 5:59AM
Dow Jones News
By Jacob M. Schlesinger
Over the past quarter century, the North American Free Trade
Agreement has done much to transform the region's economy, rewiring
supply chains, shaking up labor markets, altering consumer choices
and integrating border towns. The vast range of commerce touched by
the pact will be evident this week, when the Trump administration
holds marathon public hearings over plans to rewrite the deal with
Mexico and Canada.
Beginning with an 11-hour session slated to open at 8:50 a.m.
Tuesday, the U.S. Trade Representative's office plans three days of
hearings, churning through more than 130 witnesses. Many of the
speakers during the 24 hours of discussion are predictable players
at such events: representatives of the AFL-CIO, the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, and prominent trade academics.
But the variety of speakers shows the widespread interest in the
pact, with a long list of industries, unions and activists looking
to protect what they've gained since the 1994 launch, to make up
for what they've lost, or to take advantage of the opportunity for
change.
The kickoff session includes textile makers, the U.S. Fashion
Industry Association, and the Rubber and Plastic Footwear
Manufacturers Association. They'll be followed by representatives
of the agriculture sector -- one of Nafta's big winners -- hailing
from tomato, strawberry, wheat and corn growers, as well as three
different cattlemen's trade groups. Those speakers will be joined
by the Pet Food Institute and the National Renderers Association,
the trade group for the industry that recycles livestock
slaughterhouse byproducts, among other things, into soaps, paints,
and the like.
The recording industry, the motion pictures association, the
Library Copyright Alliance, and the Consortium for Common Food
Names will help round out the Tuesday session, accompanied by the
National Football League, which is fighting with Canada over
broadcast advertising rules.
Auto makers, truck drivers and the Council on Safe
Transportation of Hazardous Articles will get their say Wednesday,
along with Global Justice for Animals and the Environment and the
Center for Water Security and Cooperation. The wrap-up Thursday
includes the Visual Effects Industry, the American Cancer Society,
and the Western Canada Alliance of Wall and Ceiling
Contractors.
The intense interest in Nafta has been spurred by President
Donald Trump's harsh criticism of the sweeping pact as "a
disaster," and his April threat to pull out abruptly and
completely. That has sparked a robust defense from Nafta advocates
who had long taken the agreement for granted, and raised hopes for
critics looking for fix what they see as longstanding problems. It
also creates openings for lobbyists seeking business anytime
Washington reopens a big program, whether it's a trade agreement,
the tax law, or financial regulation.
In the month after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer's
mid-May notification to Congress that the pact would be
renegotiated, his agency got more than 12,000 public comments on
the matter, crashing the server and forcing him to extend the
comment period.
Write to Jacob M. Schlesinger at jacob.schlesinger@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 27, 2017 05:44 ET (09:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.