Trade skeptics get caucus meeting on Peru deal

House Democrats critical of free trade won a key demand to hold a caucus meeting to discuss the Peru free trade agreement that the Ways and Means Committee will consider on Tuesday.

{mosads}In a Sept. 21 letter to Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), several members said the next caucus meeting should be reserved “for a thorough discussion” of the Peru deal, which the letter describes as “extremely controversial” within the caucus. On Monday, a Democratic aide said that trade would be the subject of this week’s meeting on Wednesday, but insisted this had been the plan already.

These members have also criticized Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) for not holding a hearing on the agreement during this Congress. The panel did hold a Peru hearing in 2006, when the committee was chaired by Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), but critics say the committee’s membership and the agreement itself have since been changed.

“It’s extremely unfortunate there was no formal hearing on the FTA,” said Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) in a conference call to reporters Monday. He was joined by freshman Reps. Phil Hare (D-Ill.) and Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), who also signed the letter to Emanuel.

Ways and Means members and staff have engaged in extensive outreach with caucus members to ensure they are informed of changes to the agreement and commitments Peru has made to enforce the deal’s terms, a committee spokesman said. Rangel and Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) also recently spoke to the caucus and presented a detailed analysis of the deal to individual offices, said the spokesman, who added there would be more opportunities to discuss it before it moves to the floor.

Ways and Means is set to hold only an informal markup of the legislation on Tuesday. Because the deal was signed under the fast-track law, it cannot be amended in committee or on the floor. Accordingly, the informal markup is expected to signal the kind of changes that lawmakers might want to make to incorporate into formal legislation before it comes to an up-or-down vote.

The deal has already been changed to reflect a new template agreement on trade between House Democratic leaders and the administration. Those changes amended language in the deal on labor, environmental and pharmaceutical rules.

Last week, the Senate Finance Committee approved the informal legislation in an 18-3 vote.

Trade is a controversial topic within the Democratic caucus, and many observers think less than half the caucus will support the Peru FTA. Members from manufacturing districts in particular have been critical of any steps Democratic leaders have taken to hold votes on trade deals. Hare said there should be no rush to a vote on Peru.