The head of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations labor union on Wednesday warned against speedy passage of the Trump administration’s new trade pact with Mexico and Canada, saying he was especially concerned about labor protection measures in Mexico and adding that any vote on the plan before the end of November would lead to its defeat.
This story by Reuters and Bloomberg appeared in Automotive News Canada.
“If there was a vote on the new #NAFTA before thanksgiving, the agreement would be defeated. Fast action would be a colossal mistake. #1u,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a tweet.
His concerns include reservations that Mexico might not make necessary changes to ensure labor reforms, or adequately fund enforcement mechanisms, he separately said in an interview with the Washington Post, which first reported his comments.
House Democrats must pass the deal secured by Republican President Donald Trump. A top Democratic lawmaker, who led a delegation to Mexico, this week said Mexico must do more to implement labor reforms.
Trump, his administration, congressional Republicans and several key business groups have been pressuring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take up the measure before the Thanksgiving holiday in late November.
Pelosi, in a letter to House Democrats on Tuesday, said they would “continue our discussion of the USMCA.”
A group of House Democrats who visited Mexico City on Tuesday said U.S. approval of the stalled U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement hinges on Mexico’s full implementation of a new labor law.
The five Democratic lawmakers met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador amid intensifying talks with President Donald Trump’s administration on getting congressional approval in the coming weeks for the accord known as USMCA.
