U.S. President Donald Trump started a ticking clock on Thursday in an attempt to pressure Democrats to quickly approve the revised NAFTA, filing an official notice that gives him the right to submit the agreement to Congress after 30 days.

Trump’s move came shortly after Vice-President Mike Pence told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa that the new agreement would be passed “this year,” even “this summer.” Both developments signalled the administration’s growing impatience with its negotiations with the Democrats who control the U.S. House of Representatives.

Until Thursday, Trump’s trade chief, Robert Lighthizer, had negotiated with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi without imposing any particular time pressure. But some of Trump’s other senior advisers had urged the president to cut off the talks, submit the agreement to Congress and simply demand that Pelosi approve it even if it does not include the changes her party has sought.

The original NAFTA will stay in effect while the negotiations play out. The revised version, which Trump calls the USMCA, will only come into being if the legislatures of the U.S., Canada and Mexico all vote to ratify. Businesses around the continent are pushing for a quick ratification, saying their planning is hindered by political uncertainty.

Trump can still wait much longer than 30 days before he actually submits the agreement to Congress, and Lighthizer said in a letter to Pelosi that the official notice, known as a draft Statement of Administrative Action, “does not limit our ability to find solutions to address concerns” raised by her caucus. Trump’s move, though, appeared intended to suggest to Pelosi that the White House is not willing to negotiate forever.

Pelosi has options of her own. If Trump tries to dump the agreement on her against her wishes, she can have her party vote to suspend Congress’s so-called “fast-track” rule, postponing the final vote indefinitely.

Pelosi suspended the fast-track rule in 2008 when then-president George W. Bush sent her a Colombia trade deal without her blessing.

Pelosi said Thursday that Trump’s move was “not a positive step.” She said her party was already “on a path to yes” while working “productively” with Lighthizer on issues related to labour rights, the environment and sophisticated pharmaceuticals.

“It indicates a lack of knowledge on the part of the administration on the policy and process to pass a trade agreement,” she said.

The up-and-down relationship between Trump and Pelosi has soured again over the past week. After Pelosi accused him of perpetrating a “coverup,” Trump claimed she had suffered a mental decline that made her unable to even understand the trade agreement.

Further complicating North American trade matters, Trump said Thursday he planned to impose a 5 per cent tariff on all imported goods from Mexico beginning June 10. He said the tax would “gradually increase” until Mexico stopped the flow of unauthorized immigrants across the border.

Trump announced on his Twitter feed late Thursday that the tariffs would be in place “until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP.”

In a presidential statement that followed Trump’s tweet, he said tariffs would be raised to 10 per cent on July 1 “if the crisis persists,” and then by another 5 per cent each month for three months.

Pence met Thursday with Trudeau, key cabinet ministers, and the government’s cross-partisan NAFTA advisory group. He said his trip was intended not only to reassure Canada of Trump’s determination to see the agreement passed but to send a signal to Democratic leaders that “the time for Congress to act is now.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Pence said Canadians should know that Trudeau “drove a hard bargain” in negotiations.

The Trudeau government tabled legislation this week to begin Ottawa’s own ratification process but is being careful to proceed at a similar pace to the U.S., mindful that the Democrats could press the Trump administration to make modifications that Canada would have no leverage or input into.

With files from Bruce Campion-Smith, Tonda MacCharles and the New York Times

Read more about: