robert: tonight, trade, immigration and the nation'se. abortion deb i'm robert costa. welcome to "washington week." theea.s. strikes a dl with canada and mexico to lift steel and aluminum tariffs. could a tra deal with china be next? president trump: our proposal is pro american, pro immigrant and pro worker. it's just common sense. robert: president trump rolls out aew immigration plan, seeking tooritize migrants with high skills. but the reception on both sides of the aisle is cool. plus -- inside the latest push to restrict abortion,t nex. announcer: this is "washington

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permanentee. koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. the rporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, from washington, moderator robert costa. robert:the trump administration has struck a deal with canada and mexico to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum being shipped to the u.s. president trump imposed theff taa year ago citing national security concerns. the tariffs were a response to what the preside called a flood of excess chinese in global markets. the agreement removed a k obstacle to passing a new trade deal known as the usmca. it could jolt negotiations with

china. joining me tonight, amna nawaz of "pbs newshour," philip rucker, washingto bureau chief for "the washington post." susan davis, congressional correspondent for npr, and hans nichols, correspondent for nbc news. you have all the together on this, trying to get a deal. does this grease the skids for thesmca on capitol hill? >> it was a very good week on capitolr hill the president in the trade agenda, part of that becse heame up to the hill to met with democrats including nancy pelosi. i think there was skepticism going into the meeting and democrats came out of the meeting thinking the message to democrats was what d i need to do to get you on board. they know they need nancy peli to bringhis to the floor and i think they recognize that and i would say in t ebb and flow of what can this congress do with this period, at the endf this

week, i talked to more democrats who thought trade was much more of a possibility than some of the other this. robert: when could a vote happen? >> anyone who says anything that could happen substantively ith congress has to happen this year. next year the chances are nancy pelosi said she's not in any rush so i can't imagine it happens any time sn butf you'll see movement on it, fall is probably a time. robert: thisnlasn't the movement, hans. on trade this week we had the president saying we'll have a six-month playsor the european union and japan on auto tariffs. hans: the president doesn't want to fight a multi-front war. today he said six-month delay and with canada and mexico, he said we're suing for peace, we'll have an agreement. it's unclear to me wedt cha in the substance from when the president decided to put the taffs in again mexico and canada what what happened now. did we extract anything. but the president gets to focus all of his energy on china and

when you talk to administration officials, it's so clear that at they really want to do is fundamentally alter the relationship wit china. 's salted throughout the president's speeches, in his rhetoric pretty much every time he addresses it. he seemsomorertable without a deal with china than with it. he can live in a world withff ta for some time and even if he can't, he wants to send the message that he can and we saw that this week clearly. robert: you say the deals may not have changed but maybe the markets changed did that influence the white house? philip: i think it has. the president more cautious delaying auto tariffs with europe and japan,ti l tariffs with mexico and canada. he's a little bit spooked, i think, by the markets, and this goes to the 2020 re-election plan. he believes he'sth re-elected if economy is strong and humming and right now we're seeingon agita and nerves on wall street and a sense that maybe all of these trade wars

coming together at the same time without a lot ofty certa and clear forward agenda could rattle markets a have a hurtful economic impact. robert: you just got back from reporting in iowa. another farmers and chuck grassley unhappy with the tariffs on canada and mexico because the mexican government with retaliation. now that this is coming to a peace agreement on trade, what farmers andan for the midwest? amna: it's important to point out that those in the agricultural field felt the effects of the tariffs early. it's also true that some tariffs have lag time before they reach the consumer and this week we saw some of those major c.e.o.s of places like wal-mart and macy's on tir earnings call saying we think we have no

choice but to raise prices so i think that contributed to pressure on this white house to say maybe we need to ease up because when tariffs trickle down to the aonragemer, that's where it blows back on them. robert: can tre be a trade deal on capitol hill if you have a white house this week saying g we're notng to cooperate with congress, with whit house council -- counsel blocking a request, the treasury secretary not handing over sax retur you have an all-out fight on the mueller report, does that hover over everything on trade? philip: absolutely. it changes the posture between the administration and congress because you havehe white house basically blocking all oversigho investigationsthe hill and so pelosi, as you said, sue, will take their timeol this trade deal. she's in no hurry and that might be because she wants to use that

as leverage and see wha she can get out of the administration and the white house to break the log jam. susan: trade is an issue where the ideological curve bends between trump and a lot ofcr des. he has natural allies here. in chucktural allies schumer, the minority leader in the senate, as well, who has always been tough on china and one of those issues wherehe president could find willing partners in democrats. i think rublicans in the senate have to realize that this will be a trade deal that needs nancy pelosi's vote and i think the republicans have shown if the president's on board, they get on line. robert: the president hammering the iss on trade but not the only signature issue for him. with the 2020 election ahead, h returned to immigration this week. his new plan, outlined in rose garden, would revamp legal immigration, prioritize edgecade and high-killed migrants and

favor immigrants who speak englis d the proposas not address the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the country or have protection f so-called "dreamers," those brought to the country as children.is this immigration plan from president trump on legalim gration dead on arrival on capitol hill? >> that is the phrase we've heard a lot. having tracked the president's comments and rhetoric and previo o proposalsn immigration, what was actually put forth in the rose garden was pretty muted. robert: why was it muted? is jared kushner who wants it to be muted? >> perhaps. we know kushner was on the hill briefing republicans about this. maybe there was feedback in terms of what might be pushed through. the old adage, if everyone isgr maybe something's wrong. people on the far right of the spectr saying w want low immigration were very unhappy with it.on

he far end, people unhappy on the left because itidn't address daca or "dreamers"un or cumented population. on the whole, the president called it a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, it would be, if it went anywhere, which we don't thi>> it will. think it was weird. it was a weird -- if the goal was to get a compromise, the was nothing in there to get democrats on board so you're not trying to legislate and if it is just a politically messagingke tool, it something guys on capitol hill get excited about. get it to be a bill you think will excite your base a align with the ideology that has been the driving force of administration and it came off as maybe he was trying to soften his. views a little b robert: are they worried about swing voters in certain distcts they lost in 2018? >> i think they are but you can't pick and choose on this issue. a lot of suburban swing voters, the thing that offended them was faly separation at the border and if you're going to offer an immigration proposal that doesn't address that, it doesn't solve the concern of the voters

atat are mot on this issue to begin with. philip: and immigration is such a powerful part of the president's agenda and the record he'll be running on20n nd it's family separation and it's the border wall, the ero things vots in the country think about when they think of trump's immigration plan. they won't look at the details -- do respectred kushner -- they're not going to study that plan but they'll look at the presidentee rhetoric and what he's doi with the wall, sending troops tohe border, separating children. bert: report in "the post" that the president is personally involved. philip: he's having meetings with department of homeland security officials to decide what the border wall would look like, the architectural details would be. he wants it painted black so it's hot to hurt if immigrants climb and he wants spears on the top to injure them. >> if you were someone whoas

looked at previous immigration patterns and been unhappy about the fact that majority of immigrants come from asia and latin america, the president's planedould have addre that. changing it to merit-based, they wouldn't be coming from those countries and it would change e facing of our country. robert: behind closed doors, the president facing another possible crisis -- iran.la akers in both parties are alarmed. the "wall street journal" reports that u.s. intelligence shows tehran and washington may have misread each other and that prompted iran tore pre a possible counter strike. hans, you've covered the pentagon for years. you're covering the white house. there's a lot of confusion out there abo what's going on with iran. what do we know based on your reporting about the evidence? hans: the evidence from a wide variety of reporting is that they have aerial pictures showing missiles lded in a

unique way into small boats that could be filtered throughout the middle east thate could p a threat to troops and u.s.te sts. more interestingly, the rhetoric from john b lton. in of ways what we saw last week from the president, moving a carrier strike groupne- that's rou they accelerated this by about two weeks. what mattereds bolton making a big deal of it. it's clear he wants a rhetorical, strategic effect on the battlefield. robert: you don't read the t leaves as preparing for war, removing nonessential personnel and family members from iraq, sending the aircraft carrier intoed persian gulf? hans: it's all messaging. yocan class they that messaging. when you listen to the president's rhetoric, it almost seems like he's a regulator on bolton's bellicose throttle. he'll be reading a speech and they that's actually true what i just said.

he's almost commenting on his own speeches and with bolton he says, you t i'm crazy, this guy is really nuts. we've seen him say that. in the roosevelt room, he's like, well, you think i'm scary, look at john bolton so the president wants to speak with multiple people. robert: we sawev with bannon, if you get too out there on your profile, the president doesn't like it. it bolton at risk of being thrown out?ip phhe could be at risk. the president doesn't like the narrative in the media inaseek bolton as auppeteer, someone manipulating the president's decision makings. proces what a sea change this is from earlier in the administration when it was general mattis, genera kly, rex tillerson seen as guard rails against the president and now it's the president who's the guardrail against bolton. robert: is there any appetite on t withl hill engagem iran? >> no.

there was a lot of upset on capitol hill about this. often when you hav global reats when you think the u.s. military might be needed, theyhe notify armed services committee and talk to the gang of eight -- there's a protocol and the administration didn't do any of that.th e is concern of what is happening on the ground. they were hearing it in the media befoat the adminisn. and the overall message was, this does not have -- military action in iran does not have support of congress and tomocrats would argue if the president wanteo that, they would need a vote. robe f: iranls crippled with h.h.s. - its economy because of sanctions. >> much of this is interpreting what the pressure is, economic sanctions which the president says they're prepared to escalate. it is clear thatny military action against iran would be

devastating and destabilizing for t region in a way the u.s. does not want to take on for a number of reasons. robert: in alabama, the republican led state legislature passed a new total ban on abortion. the law has no exceptions for rape or incest, only when the mother's health is at risk. wooun seeking abortion not be punished but the doctor who performed the procedure could u fa to 99 years in prison. alabama's ju the latest state to pursue new abortion restrictions. eight states have passedaws restricting abortions this year. joining me now from montgomery, alabama, don daile news and public affairs director and host of "capitol journal" on alabama public tft. television. thanks for joining us. hiat does law mean for the women of alabama?

don: well, it's been a divisive issue here in the state this week, as you might imagine. those who oppose this abortion ban have said that f women it means possibleoo bac abortions from the days of yore and severe setbacks to women's reproductive health rights and those on the other side say it's about preserving life anden prng a test case they hope goes to the u.s. supreme court. : was that the legal strategy all along in alabama? we've heard advocates say it was, that they understand t kick -- they wanted to kick this issue to the highest court in the land. don: indeed. the sponsors of the legislation have said their ultimate goal was legal challenge, one they hope goes all the way to the supreme court andorces a review of the roe versus wade decision andhey said in keeping the abortion ban as restrictive as possible andus noted, it's heralded this

week as the most restrictive in the country, keeping it restrictive would help their case, when and if it goes before the natn's highest court. robert: when you're in alabama talking to the leaders in the republican p wty have been pushing this, what's their answer to the question of why now, why the urgency in going to the brink here on thisss, why at this moment are they pursuing it? don: they feel the tim is right on a number of levels. first of all, last year, alabamans overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment declaring alabama to be a pro life state republicans who supported the abortion ban felt emboldene to take the step, that they felt they had the majority of alabame ci behind them on this. then there's the issue about the conservative leae ng u.s. suprurt. they feel the climate is right there, too, now, to take up this challenge if the case makes it all the way to the u.s. supreme

court so it was a two-pronged approach they had in initiating this legislation.be : don dailey from alabama public television, i hope to see you down there soon when i cover jon jones, his re-election in 2020. don: thank you. robert: he mentioned the supreme court, brett kavanaugh recently confirmed. is there thought in the republican party that this supreme court has moved to the right because ofhe confirmation of kavanaugh and for that reason this this is the moment? across the country, wessaw ri today and elsewhere. >> this has been part of a broader conservative strategy since 2012, we've see legislatures pass laws with the intention to get something to the court to overturn roe v. wade. the fascinating thing about the alabama law is so much of the abortion debate is seen as between right and left but the

alabama measure exped the divide in the republican party. carthy said he thought the law went too far and the ahead of the r.n.c. said theaw went too far and others within the party debating whether this was advancing the cause oer whe laws like this will be thrown out in the courts and derail the cause, that they're not advancing the policy and are the politics so divisivt you are turning away the voters you're trying to persuade? robert: is this now one of the key issues for 2020? >> aolutely. we've already seen it come up with some of theresidential candidates on the democratic side. this is the culminaon of several years of chipping away at the constitutional, protected right for women to get an abortion. ire than 400 think, pieces of state legislation have been put into place or the last several years and this is the latest acceleration and it'sr

cl there has been acceleration since justice kavanaugh tk his seat, more restrictive laws have gone into place. some of the more aggressive lstrictive measures are probably lessely to be the ones the supreme court takes up according to some. robert: missouri passed its own laws on abortion. amna: they're coming in all forms. some of the six- to eight-week bans a back-door bans. if you're six weeks pregnant, you're two weeks late on your latest period sa lot of these measures are hidden behind language and have been in place yr years andrs but it's clear. anti-abortion activists think is is their moment in time. 30-plus years in the making, if ever was a chance to get roe v. wade reconsidered, it's now. robert: one of those long-time activists is vice president of

the united state mike pence. how is this white house reacting?we eard from sue that top republican leaders in congress are distancing themselves.te is the wouse? philip: it's interesting. for now, president trump and the whiteouse have not fully embraced this alabama law. they've said very little. they've tried t avoid taking a clear position. although vice president pence a pro life administration and he's an interesting figure becausehe he's connection between trump and the religious right, evangelical christians. for pence, it's a personal conviction and for trump, political convenience. president trump was pro choice before getting into the political race. hans: you get the sense the presiden doesn't have a good feel for the abortion issue. there are not many topics that

he won't weighn in o but he's very silent on abortion. this week the silence from the white house has been deafening. there who one statement on wednesday on these bills. the president likes to talk about what a good feel he has for theat elect and the economy -- he doesn't have that feel on abortion and seems toe avoiding the issue. robert: maybe on statements he doesn't have the feel but on action he's filled the federal judiciy with many conservative judges. the finrprints ofhis administration on this issue are everywhere. >> that's absolutely right. for people he's messaging politically, that's what they want to see and many trump supporters i've spoken to point exactly to that. ey may not like the way he carries himself or conducts himself but we got our supreme court justices and that's what ti were here for. robert: you med the 2020 race. we saw senator warren come out with her own plan.

is this the galvanizing issue, for some democrats in the presidential race, does this move up past the green new deal and other things out let out th? is this about protecting abortion rights? >> i think one thing to know is that one of the most driving issues in the 2018 midterms were men voters and the issue of healthcare and for many women voters, abortion is a question so i think they look at it through that spectrum. i think democrats see this also as a way -- women voters have already been very excited in our political climate but this is someing that wil continue to galvanize them. i think it's important that it'o not just women. if you look at polling data on the country's attitudes on abortion, men and wen track similarly. a majority of men and majority of women think there should be some legal access to abortion, roughly the same numbers. there's noten ar divide. there's a political divide on the issue and so ihio

republicans also risk turning off a lot of men who share the o viewsf women and independent men who do not -- may believe is some restrictiut the kind of laws like alabama are something that really off to the party as a whole because it's not something they want tossociate themselves with. robert: we'll leave it there. thanks for being here tonight. appreciate it on a friday night. up next,h stick w us, we'll have the "washington week extra." we'll talk more about 2020, watch it on our website, facebook or youtube.os i'm robert have, a great weekend. r: announorporate funding is provided by -- >> babbel, aanguage program that teaches real life

conversations in a new language such as spanish, french, german, italian and more. babbel's 10 to 15-minute lessons are available as an app or online. more information on babbel.com. announcer:home adviser. kaiser financial services firm, raymond james. additional funding is provided by --ko and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation, committed to bridgg cultural differences in our communities. the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbsst ion from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the nation which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org.] >> you're watchi pbs.

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