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Republican senators knock USTR’s NAFTA approach as ‘outdated’

Three Republican senators last month ripped the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s approach to the North American Free Trade Agreement as “outdated” and called on President Trump enforce an “offensive” strategy that eschews trade barriers and pushes decreased regulation and easier permitting. “Rather than pursuing a defensive strategy that focuses solely on what other countries are doing to us, we need to develop a more comprehensive offensive U.S. strategy to strengthen our economy from within, to more effectively counter...

Mexican president submits TPP-11 for Senate approval

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Tuesday submitted the new Trans-Pacific Partnership to the Mexican Senate for approval, according to Mexican press reports. The TPP-11 was signed on March 8 in Santiago, Chile, and will come into force once ratified by six parties. The Japanese government approved its ratification bills last week and is hoping for ratification by the Diet this year. A former Mexican official told Inside U.S. Trade in an email Tuesday that the “time line could...

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USTR releases fact sheet on KORUS amendments


Japan approves TPP-11 ratification bills, hopes for nod from Diet this year

The government of Japan on Tuesday approved a slate of bills necessary for the ratification of the new Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to Japanese media reports. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet signed off on the bills and the government will present them in the current session of the Diet which ends on June 20, Kyodo News reports. Japan played an instrumental role in concluding negotiations for the TPP-11 after the U.S. withdrew from the TPP last January. The 11 countries...

Lighthizer: 'Intense' currency deliberations go well beyond past discussions

The Trump administration is engaged in “intense” discussions about currency rules in a new NAFTA and an amended U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. His hope, he added, is that enforceable currency provisions that deal with transparency and competitive devaluation are included in both agreements. “The notion of transparency and no competitive devalution is very much at the heart of what we’re doing; whether it’s in this agreement or not,...

Lighthizer: Gerrish to study Asia-Pacific bilateral targets; Philippines a 'reasonable' first step

The Philippines would be a “reasonable” initial target for a free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday, adding that he has tasked a new deputy USTR to study which other countries should be approached for bilateral talks. Testifying before the House Ways & Means Committee, Lighthizer was asked by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) about possible bilateral trade agreements with the Philippines and Vietnam. President Trump has said he hopes to sign bilateral...

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More than 100 GOP lawmakers tell Lighthizer NAFTA must contain ISDS to win their support


Perdue: Lighthizer ‘more optimistic’ a new NAFTA deal can be struck

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is feeling more hopeful about successfully concluding the NAFTA negotiations following the president's decision to impose steel and aluminum tariffs, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Tuesday. “Ambassador Lighthizer – last time I spoke to him was last week – I think felt more optimistic maybe that we can get a deal done, and the maneuvering regarding steel and aluminum and those exemptions may be a leverage point that could help [the] NAFTA negotiations move...

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In letter to Trump, former Commanders of U.S. Northern, Southern Commands push for stronger NAFTA


Sasse defends free trade and NAFTA, wonders if GOP colleagues will show 'courage'

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) on Friday offered a robust defense of the benefits of free trade and the international trading system, as well as NAFTA – but said he was unsure whether his Republican colleagues would have the “courage of their convictions” to back him up. “If you look at trade, just as an economic matter, it has been indisputably good for the U.S.,” Sasse said at a Heritage Foundation event. “NAFTA in particular has been indisputably good for the...

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