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U.S., South Korea slated for KORUS talks in Seoul next week

The U.S. and South Korea will meet in Seoul next week to continue talks on amendments and modifications to the U.S. Korea Free Trade Agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced on Thursday. The talks are slated for Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, according to a USTR statement. The first round of negotiations was held on Jan. 5, in Washington, DC. “The United States will engage on priority areas with the goal of moving towards fair and reciprocal trade and...

Sources: Canada’s ideas on autos gaining traction with U.S. ahead of formal presentation

MONTREAL -- The U.S. negotiating team showed interest in the Canadian government’s ideas for a new NAFTA automotive rule of origin during a preliminary discussion on Wednesday, potentially breaking a deadlock on the issue during a sixth renegotiation round here, sources close to the talks tell Inside U.S. Trade . Canadian negotiators presented “broad ideas” they believe would amount to an approach that would achieve the United States’ stated goals of incentivizing investment in the U.S. and boosting its steel...

Trump talks TPP, says he would be 'open' to a better deal

President Trump said on Thursday that he would be open to joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership if “we were able to make a substantially better deal.” In an interview with CNBC , Trump was asked about his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the deal a year ago after railing against it as a candidate. He repeated his belief that the deal was “horrible” and expressed his preference for bilateral agreements over multilaterals – but then said he would not be...

Chamber to U.S. NAFTA negotiators: Scrap ‘damaging’ government procurement proposal

A U.S. win in its efforts to curtail Canadian and Mexican access to government-procurement markets could cost U.S. industry billions, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns, labeling the U.S. NAFTA proposal a “disaster.” The U.S. should “reconsider this damaging proposal,” argues John Murphy, Chamber senior vice president for trade and investment policy, which he said “promises no benefit and considerable harm.” At issue is a U.S. proposal to limit NAFTA-partner access to government markets in the same proportion as companies...

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AFL-CIO, Mexican union complaint with the Labor Department over Mexico's NAFTA labor obligations


Brady: Lawmakers headed to Montreal to 'keep up the fight' on NAFTA

Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) heads to Montreal this weekend to “remind” negotiators of the importance of NAFTA, and he won't be the only lawmaker there: A Ways & Means delegation led by trade panel Chairman Dave Reichert (R-WA) has headed north as well to “keep up the fight,” Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said this week. “Our negotiators and our message will be: keep up with the momentum, keep up with the fight for the American people, keep up the...

Sources expect NAFTA talks will extend beyond March; Guajardo, Brady downplay deadline

MONTREAL -- Negotiating teams here have lowered expectations for what the three NAFTA ministers will be able to accomplish when they convene at the end of the sixth round of talks here, with some sources saying they expect negotiations will continue past a late March deadline set last fall. House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Mexico’s Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo both downplayed the March deadline this week as well. "I think that if you read the...

Major business groups launch campaign to promote trade, NAFTA

A coalition of major business groups on Wednesday announced the launch of “Trade for America,” a campaign they say will tout the benefits of trade to ordinary Americans. “TFA will also build support for modernizing trade agreements – including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) – to promote even more economic growth opportunities for American businesses and workers,” the groups said in a statement. The American Farm Bureau Federation, Business Roundtable,...

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Health civil society groups urge NAFTA ministers not to include 'NAFTA-plus' IP standards on medicines


Canada, Mexico hope for U.S. flexibility as NAFTA negotiators head into auto talks

MONTREAL -- The U.S. this week must show it is willing to engage and compromise on its NAFTA partners’ ideas to break a deadlock in the talks on a new automotive rule of origin, Canadian and Mexican officials said. Both countries said separately that they would not make “formal” counteroffers to the Trump administration’s proposal on the rule of origin, which called for 50 percent of a North American vehicle to be manufactured in the United States, increasing the regional...

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