Mexico Official Complains About 3-Way Trade Deal in Tweetstorm

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico’s top trade negotiator took to Twitter on Sunday to drive home his objections to the congressional proposal to create multiple U.S. labor attaches to monitor implementation of the free trade deal with the U.S. and Canada.The 18 tweets came a day after Jesus Seade wrote to his U.S. counterpart, Robert Lighthizer, expressing “surprise and concern” over the inclusion of the labor overseers as part of the bill that ratifies the implementation of the agreement.“It is worrisome that through a bill, it’s intended to go beyond what is necessary to take care of the good compliance of what was negotiated between the parties,” Seade said in his letter, which was released on Saturday by Mexico’s Foreign Ministry. “We reserve the right to review the significance and effects of these provisions, which our government and people will no doubt clearly see as unnecessary.”The labor attache plan wasn’t part of the agreement signed in Mexico City by the U.S., Canada and Mexico last week, Seade said on Saturday.In the tweetstorm, Seade outlined the benefits of the deal for Mexico and defended himself against suggestions that he had failed to nail down the finer points of the treaty before the Mexican Senate voted to approve the deal on Thursday.“It is contemplated that five diplomatic labor attaches will be appointed in Mexico, whose function isn’t clear,” Seade said in a tweet. “But Mexico will NEVER accept that if it’s in any measure inspectors in disguise, for a simple reason: Mexican law prohibits it.”“NO INSPECTORS,” he said in an another post.Seade is expected to meet with Lighthizer and U.S. lawmakers in Washington on Monday. Foreign officials must have the permission of Mexican authorities to take part in diplomatic duties, the ministry said on Saturday, adding that there already is one U.S. attache in charge of labor topics in the country.The White House sent legislation to implement the USMCA to Congress Friday. But under U.S. trade law procedures, the bill cannot be amended. The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to report it out on Tuesday and the full House will vote on Thursday. White House economic director Larry Kudlow predicted on Fox News on Sunday that the deal would pass the House “handily.”Mexico was the first of the three nations to approve changes to the free-trade deal with the U.S. and Canada that is intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Mexican Senate approved modifications to the agreement -- which didn’t include the U.S. attaches -- in a 107-1 vote.\--With assistance from Jenny Leonard and Nathan Crooks.To contact the reporter on this story: Oscar Medina in Bogota at omedinacruz@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Jaramillo at ajaramillo1@bloomberg.net, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.