Trump's North American trade deal at risk of stalling in Congress

By Erica Werner, David J. Lynch and Emily Rauhala March 29 at 7:46 AM

President Trump’s effort to rework a major trade deal with Canada and Mexico is showing signs of faltering on Capitol Hill, straining under a variety of angry complaints from lawmakers of both parties who won’t commit to backing the plan.

Trump reached agreement with Canada and Mexico last year to update the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. But Congress must approve the deal, and the White House has been unable to mollify the growing complaints.

The administration’s goal is to get the pact approved ahead of Congress’s annual August recess. It’s not clear if that timeline is realistic. But delaying action past Labor Day could greatly increase political risk because of the accelerating presidential campaign.

In the latest obstacle, key Republican senators including Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) have begun insisting stridently that Trump lift steel and aluminum tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico as a precondition to any congressional vote.

Grassley said in an interview Thursday that he’d made the case directly to Trump at a recent meeting, but that the president refused to budge. Nonetheless, Grassley predicted Trump would have no choice but to give in if he wants the new NAFTA deal — one of the signature promises of his presidential campaign — to advance.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/north-american-trade-deal-faces-early-headwinds-on-capitol-hill/2019/03/29/ef5b0d0c-5178-11e9-88a1-ed346f0ec94f_story.html