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FTA Central

After White House meeting, Hatch says he likes Trump’s trade approach

Senate Finance Committee Republicans held what several termed a “constructive” meeting with President Trump on Wednesday, focusing on trade policy and NAFTA in particular and pleasing the panel chairman, Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who emerged saying he now liked the president’s trade approach. Hatch, who has not always seen eye-to-eye with the president on trade, told Inside U.S. Trade that the White House meeting was “great,” with the president answering senators’ questions about NAFTA and “a number of other...

Ontario premier threatens retaliation for New York 'buy American' law

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne plans to push legislation to “respond in kind” to a “buy American” law passed by New York last year, she said on Tuesday. Wynne, who was in Washington, DC, to meet with lawmakers, the chief NAFTA negotiator for the U.S. and other federal officials, said in a statement that the New York law has left Ontario “no choice but to act.” “When Ontario's legislative session resumes on February 20, the government will table legislation that would...

Reichert, Pascrell to press Lighthizer on NAFTA enforcement at Ways & Means meeting

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will face questions on how a revamped NAFTA deal will be enforced when he meets with the House Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday morning, the chair and ranking member of the panel’s trade subcommittee told Inside U.S. Trade . “Dispute resolution is going to be a big topic of discussion, I think,” Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) said on Tuesday. The meeting will be an opportunity for Lighthizer to brief the full committee on...

A 'more hopeful' Perdue says a NAFTA deal will be completed in 2018

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says he is optimistic the renegotiation of NAFTA will wrap up this year with the U.S. getting “a better deal” from both Mexico and Canada. “NAFTA negotiations are a little bit like congressional bills that don’t happen until the end,” Perdue told the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. “The good news is I’m more hopeful than I have been. I think probably we’ve seen more movement on Mexico’s side than we do Canada. I believe frankly...

Finance Republicans head to the White House Wednesday to talk trade with Trump

Senate Finance Committee Republicans will discuss NAFTA and looming trade actions -- as well as their impacts on the U.S. economy -- with President Trump at the White House this week, senators and congressional aides told Inside U.S. Trade . Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) said his message to Trump for the Wednesday meeting -- requested by the senators -- was “to be determined” but added that he would be “very respectful and just point out what we think is an...

Australian ambassador: No talk of delaying TPP-11 so the U.S. can come back

Trans-Pacific Partnership member countries have not discussed delaying the deal's signing to accommodate possible interest from the United States, Australia’s ambassador to the U.S., Joe Hockey, said on Monday. “There is no suggestion of delay,” he said at an event at the Australian embassy hosted by the Washington International Trade Association. Australia and the 10 other parties to the new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership concluded negotiations for the pact late last month and are aiming to have...

Trudeau: Canada 'willing to walk away' from NAFTA

Canada is “willing to walk away from NAFTA if the United States offers a bad deal,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday. At a town hall meeting in British Columbia, Trudeau was asked about the state of the NAFTA talks and reiterated that Canada was “not going to take any old deal.” “Canada is willing to walk away from NAFTA if the United States proposes a bad deal,” he said. “We will not be pushed around.” Despite the “complex...

Canada, in ‘poison pill’ approach derided by the U.S., would eschew MFN-forward rule in NAFTA

In the just-completed sixth round of NAFTA talks, Canada proposed withholding the extension of services market access it provides in future trade agreements with others to the U.S. and Mexico -- an approach U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer called “unacceptable” and likened to a “poison pill.” The Canadian negotiating team refused to include a non-conforming measure that would compel Canada to apply the “most favored nation-forward” principle to its NAFTA partners, sources close to the talks told Inside U.S. Trade...

Malpass: Stronger trade negotiators one reason U.S. could reconsider TPP

A top Treasury official said on Friday that a tougher trade negotiating team installed by President Trump was one reason the U.S. could reconsider its stance on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Asked at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event about the possibility of the U.S. rejoining the trade pact, which President Trump suggested was possible last week if it could be improved, Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs David Malpass said “The point that that negotiation had reached in...

'Progressive' senators reiterate NAFTA demands in letter to Trump

Six senators on Friday implored President Trump to ensure a retooled NAFTA includes strong environmental and labor provisions and takes other steps to stop outsourcing. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Ed Markey (MA), Jeff Merkley (OR) and Mazie Hirono (HI) wrote in a Feb. 2 letter to the president that the “status quo of NAFTA helping corporations outsource more middle class jobs to Mexico every week and attack public health and environmental safeguards in...

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