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USMCA: AN IOWA PRIORITY
"What I would really love to see done is Congress ratify the USMCA."
Governor Kim Reynolds
June 25, 2019
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Yesterday, Iowa's governor, Kim Reynolds, appeared on
CNBC's "Power Lunch" and made a strong pitch for the new NAFTA, USMCA. She also made a strong pitch for Iowa, but more on that in a later entry. Trade came up right away, and Governor Reynolds packed a lot into what was, in effect, the first paragraph of her presentation. She said:
I'm a free market gal, and I want to do what we can to continue to grow our economy. One in five jobs in Iowa is attributed to our ability to export our goods and commodities across the world. And so, we want to make sure that we can - first of all, what I would really love to see done is Congress ratify the USCMA. That would bring a great deal of predictability and certainty to the market. That's our one and two trading partners. And I believe if we can get that done, then we can join hands with our allies and really focus on China and see if we can't move the needle there.
She is hardly alone. Of America's 50 states, 27 are administered by Republican governors, and, on June 20, all 27 - including Governor Reynolds - sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging quick passage of legislation implementing the USMCA, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. America's partners are moving. The Mexican Senate approved the agreement on June 19 by the convincing vote of 114 to 4, making Mexico the first country to ratify.
Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX), the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee is impatient to get USMCA done. "Every day USMCA is delayed," he said, "America suffers." That was part of his opening statement at last week's (June 19) Ways and Means hearing with Ambassador Lighthizer. The committee chairman, however, had a different message. In his opening statement, Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) talked about the potential benefits of USMCA but stressed the importance of getting it right. Speaking to Ambassador Lighthizer, he said, "All of this is too important to rush."
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So, we'll see. At this point, we are just a little more than an hour away from the first debate among Democratic contenders for the presidency. That will be in Miami. We don't know whether USMCA will come up, but it seems at least worth mentioning that Governor
Ron DeSantis of Florida was one of the signers of the June 20 letter urging action. And the presidential hopefuls have certainly not been ignoring Iowa. It is where the first caucuses are held, and it is never ignored. Indeed, just two weeks ago 19 of the 23 Democrat contenders were in Cedar Rapids, and doubtless many of them will be back and back again before this is over.
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We are all for healthy, small-d democratic competition. It certainly would be nice, however, if the rivalry were to shift from who wants USMCA and who doesn't to who really deserves the credit for getting it done.
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Governor Reynolds on CNBC is a link to the YouTube clip CNBC's interview yesterday with Iowa's Republican governor, Governor Kim Reynolds. This was the source for today's featured quote.
From 27 Governors is a link to the letter that America's 27 Republican governors sent to the Speaker of the House, the House Minority Leader, the Senator Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader on June 20, urging passage of USMCA.
From Chairman Neal's Opening Statement at the Ways and Means Committee's Trade Policy hearing on June 19 is a link to the printed version of that statement.
Ways and Means and the Trade Agenda is a link to the YouTube video of the Committee's June 19 hearing on the U.S. Trade Agenda. Ranking Member Brady's opening statement begins at, roughly, at the 7-minute, 30-second mark.
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