A Washington Post article is suggesting that negotiations for the Butch Lewis Act may be moving in the right direction after a suggestion to tack on the BLA to the USMCA (the former NAFTA trade deal). Conversations between Representative Richard Neal (D, MA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have taken place and may suggest that final “intense deal-making” has begun.

According to the article, “the pension overhaul legislation could act as a powerful sweetener for organized labor and wavering Democrats who are skeptical about agreeing to a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement that is being pushed by President Trump.” It is suggested that Mnuchin had a “courteous” response to Neal’s suggestion about tacking the BLA onto the trade deal. Let’s hope!

We will share more as more is known.