Thread by @AnaSwanson

I'm covering the OTHER hearing this morning. No, not Jay Powell's...

Ways and Means Committee Chair Neal in his introductory to Robert Lighthizer's testimony today: The Trump administration must hold out with China for a good deal, a structural deal

Ranking member @RepKevinBrady: The China deal should be measurable, predictable, and “subject to corrective action should it fall short of commitments”

@RepKevinBrady Here's the video link to today's hearing

@RepKevinBrady In his testimony, Lighthizer emphasizes the strength of the economy, the bipartisan interest in a good deal, and Trump's “insight and grit."
He also emphasized there is still much work to be done on getting a deal with China, as well as afterwards to enforce it

@RepKevinBrady “We have to have the ability to take proportional action unilaterally to make sure that we have a situation where they’re following the guidelines,” Lighthizer says

@RepKevinBrady Sparring with @RepLloydDoggett, Lighthizer insists the agreement with China will be binding, but that he doesn’t have to submit to it Congress for approval. “It’s the president’s constitutional authority to enter into executive agreements."

@RepKevinBrady The goal here should be meaningful structural changes, not just soybean purchases, says @RepLloydDoggett. Lighthizer: “I do not think it should just be a purchase agreement, I agree with that completely”

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett Lighthizer says he hopes to go to Japan in the next month to start trade talks and also carry out a trilateral meeting with the EU

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett “If USMCA doesn’t pass, it would be a catastrophe across the country," LIghthizer says

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett Asked about currency, Lighthizer says “There’s no agreement on anything until there is an agreement on everything but… We have spent a lot of time on currency, and it’ll be enforceable, the agreement will be enforceable, and I think there will be something on it.”

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett Lighthizer responds to @RepRonKind that dealing with China multilaterally has been tried unsuccessfully by prior administrations. Trump's "unilateral action is what has brought us to the point where we are now … we are hopefully on the verge of beginning to turn the corner”

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett @RepRonKind Wish we got a response on this. Lighthizer insists his negotiation is bounded by the scope of the 301 report. @BillPascrell responds: Ag market access is not in the scope of the 301 report, but you are negotiating it anyway

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett @RepRonKind @BillPascrell Lighthizer says that IF there is an agreement they will hold monthly meetings at the office director level, quarterly meetings at vice ministerial level and semiannual meetings at his level with Liu He to address complaints by companies and others

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett @RepRonKind @BillPascrell Sad from @RepArrington on hard times for farmers. Farmer suicide is 5x the national average, they've lost 50 percent market share in China and still strongly support the president. "They’ll stand with him right up until they have to sell the family farm.”

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett @RepRonKind @BillPascrell @RepArrington Lighthizer responds to my reporting on the lack of progress in negotiations on securing concrete commitments on structural issues: “The fact is that we are making headway on structural issues, contrary to what you maybe read here and there"

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett @RepRonKind @BillPascrell @RepArrington He adds "The president believes they are central to having what anyone would consider to be a great agreement... His instructions to me are, you have to get a great agreement. If we have no agreement, we’ll just wait until we can get a great agreement.”

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett @RepRonKind @BillPascrell @RepArrington Lighthizer closes today by brandishing a chart that juxtaposes all the past negotiations with China and a steadily rising trade deficit they failed to reduce

@RepKevinBrady @RepLloydDoggett @RepRonKind @BillPascrell @RepArrington “I honestly believe that good people tried for 20 years the multilateral approach, the talk approach," he says. “They just demonstrably failed.” He adds: "Is this perfect? I’m not going to say it’s perfect. But at least it’s leading to results where everything else didn’t.”