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Rep. Castro: Engagement with ASEAN can be an alternative to TPP

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, on Monday said U.S. engagement with the bloc could be an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “The president's Indo-Pacific concept is missing a credible economic pillar. President Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership but has not presented a credible alternative,” he said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event. “One path forward is for the United States to partner with ASEAN,...

U.S. won't make a new labor offer during round 7; Mexico to propose dispute settlement, investment, sunset text

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has shared new text on labor with cleared advisers and Capitol Hill but will not put forward that text at the seventh North American Free Trade Agreement negotiating round in Mexico City this week, sources said. Meanwhile, Mexico's chief negotiator says Mexico will advance “constructive proposals” on “dispute settlement, investment, and sunset among others.” In a tweet Monday evening, Mexican chief negotiator Kenneth Smith Ramos said Mexico “comes to [Round] 7 with constructive...

U.S. tests Peru’s progress in addressing illegal logging

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer today called on Peru to “verify” that a group of timber shipments exported to the U.S. in 2017 complied with regulations outlined in the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement. The move will “help ensure that Peruvian timber is legally harvested and violators are held accountable,” USTR said in a Feb. 26 statement. The Forest Sector Governance Annex mechanism, included in the environment chapter of the agreement, outlines requirements for Peru to conduct audits of timber producers...

NAFTA rule-of-origin talks postponed after Lighthizer calls for autos meeting in DC

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Sunday summoned the agency’s chief rules-of-origin negotiator back from the seventh round of NAFTA talks so he can participate in rare meetings with U.S. auto representatives in Washington called for by the USTR, sources told Inside U.S. Trade. Rules of origin were on the agenda for three days of the talks -- Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, according to a schedule for the round obtained by Inside U.S. Trade -- but USTR’s rules-of-origin...

Ontario premier: USTR aware of subnational engagement, recognizes common cause on NAFTA

The engagement between U.S. governors and Canadian and Mexican legislators and premiers is not going unnoticed at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne told Inside U.S. Trade in a Feb. 22 interview. Wynne, who has been to the U.S. many times of late to meet with Trump administration officials, lawmakers and governors, said she believes legislators and business leaders in both countries -- as well as premiers and governors -- understand the importance of...

As Trump trashes trade deals, governors step in to defend them

As President Trump continues to voice criticism of trade agreements and the international trading system, U.S. governors and foreign leaders are stepping up their defense of trade and NAFTA in particular – a message the governors will deliver in meetings with Cabinet officials and lawmakers this week. Governors are also increasingly engaging with other countries on trade and investment at the subnational level, including – as NAFTA negotiations drag on – relations with Canada and Mexico. Several governors are also...

Pascrell, Levin warn of 'death knell' for NAFTA if Mexican wages are not addressed

Mexican Labor Minister Roberto Campa this week said he was “sure that labor issues will not be an obstacle” in the modernization of NAFTA, but two senior Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee aren't so sure. Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), ranking member of the Ways and Means trade subcommittee, and Sandy Levin (D-MI) responded to Campa's comments on Friday with a statement saying “Labor rights in Mexico is not an issue that can be sidestepped.” Campa, Reuters reported...

Ways & Means Democrats demand hearings on NAFTA's renegotiation

Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee are demanding hearings on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a Feb. 22 letter to trade subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert (R-WA), ranking member Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and 14 other Ways & Means Democrats say neither the trade panel nor the full committee has held a hearing with an administration witness since the renegotiation effort kicked off last year. “We urge you to schedule a hearing to provide the...

Latin American officials eye how NAFTA could impact trade agreements with the U.S.

Latin American government and business officials are concerned about a modernized North American Free Trade Agreement could impact trade deals with the U.S., according to José Antonio Muñoz, chairman of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean. During an “Outlook on the Americas” conference hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AACCLA in Miami this week, officials from Latin America, the U.S. and the private sector gathered to address regional economic issues. “We...

Minister: Mexican labor standards will not stymie NAFTA progress

Mexican labor standards will not deter NAFTA modernization talks, Roberto Campa, Mexico’s labor minister, said this week. “Based on the information we’ve received from those who have taken part in the talks, we’re sure that labor issues will not be an obstacle to concluding the negotiation of the deal,” Campa said at Feb. 21 press conference, according to Reuters. Campa’s comments came after leaders of six labor unions met with President Trump to talk about trade and NAFTA. One industry...

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