TRUMP SIDES WITH FARMERS

The last part of the two-part headline reads, “Trump Sides With Farmers.” My first thought was, “Well – – -yeah”. Then I had to find out as Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story.” Much of the answer lies in the other half of the Headline, Senate Finance Plans USMCA Hearing.


I think perhaps what the headline really was telling us is that the President will explain, in whatever detail is required, to the Senate Finance Committee, to just what degree farmers need this Congressional Approval, and to what extent he might go to assure that it gets done. The Senate Finance Committee is, as you may know, chaired by Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican from Iowa. The Hearing, which was to have taken place about a week ago, was to deal with the proposed USMCA – – The U S, Mexico, Canada Agreement, on international trade among these three major North American countries.


This being a planned jewel in the President’s international trading “crown”, and the fact that approval is required in both the Democrat controlled House and the Republican controlled Senate, it’s easy to understand why Mr Trump wants “hands on”. Chief among those who were to testify before that committee was U S Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. (And, just as a sidebar, I heard reference just the other day, to Mr Lighthizer, describing him as among the most competent and dependable trade representatives ever to be a part of any Administration.) Now – – dropping the other shoe, Senator Grassley has already said he believes the demands from House Democrats can be met. The House must, of course, approve the legislation before it can be passed to the Senate for consideration there.


It does seem to me it’s taking an awful long time to get from proposal to ratification, but, Canada’s foreign minister Christia Freeland has met with Lighthizer with the idea in mind that USMCA should be a go. President Trump has said, in effect, “Let’s git ‘er done” or something like that – – anyway, he’s formally sided with a group of more than 950 agribusinesses and organizations, “Our patriot farmers and rural America have spoken”, to quote the President, “and now Congress must do its job.”


And now, by the way, we know – – if you didn’t know already – – that Mexico is/was on the verge of signing that agreement, following negotiations with Mr Trump, who agreed to delay or eliminate those plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, amid negotiations to persuade Mexico to employ a heavier hand to dissuade Central American asylum-seekers.