CNBC: GOP begins grassroots campaign to sell Trump’s trade deal with Mexico and Canada to skeptical voters and lawmakers
President Donald Trump’s new trade deal with Canada and Mexico faces a treacherous path to approval in a split Congress, so the administration is planning to lean heavily on a grassroots lobbying effort to sell the plan to skeptical voters and lawmakers.
The campaign, called Trade Works for America, is in the early stages of a multi-million dollar marketing blitz including television ads, congressional outreach and messaging to employees in industries that could be affected. The effort was assembled by veteran Republican operative Phil Cox.
“Our job is really to go out and educate the public about the benefits of USMCA,” Cox told CNBC. “We have a great opportunity to sort of define what this agreement is and to really talk about the benefits.”
It’s been nearly four months since the U.S., Canada and Mexico signed a deal to replace the existing North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump must sell House Democrats on his signature trade deal – and convince Senate Republicans to stomach labor-friendly provisions to win the left over.
Cox, the GOP operative, sees the opportunity as a blank slate. Most voters now have a negative association with NAFTA, thanks to Trump’s frequent attacks on the deal, which went into effect during the early years of President Bill Clinton’s administration. But polling shows Americans don’t know much about the new agreement.
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