Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 12/5/19

Disagreement between U.S. and Mexican trade officials over how to enforce labor standards under USMCA could derail the chances of Congress ratifying the three-way deal this year, write Pro Trade's Sabrina Rodriguez and Megan Cassella.

Jesús Seade, Mexico's undersecretary for North America, returned to D.C. to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, hoping to strike a compromise on the labor enforcement provisions that would defuse political backlash in Mexico over the proposed changes that Lighthizer negotiated with House Democrats. But after six hours of talks, Seade emerged Wednesday night without a breakthrough.

Back to the NAFTA quo? One of the trade deal's biggest Democratic backers, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar , said that Mexican officials would rather walk away and keep the original NAFTA in place, Sabrina reports. Mexican sources with knowledge of the negotiations offered similar assessments of the situation.

Seade and other Mexican officials have made clear that "Democrats are asking for some very extreme positions we're not going to accept," Cuellar said. For example, Mexican leaders and businesses are opposed to allowing U.S. inspectors into Mexico to verify that companies are complying with USMCA's stricter labor standards.