NAFTA Round Six Continues – Canada and Mexico Hope To Manipulate Their Way To Round Seven…

[goldenequity]

NAFTA Round Six Continues – Canada and Mexico Hope To Manipulate Their Way To Round Seven… (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/01/27/nafta-round-six-continues-canada-and-mexico-hope-to-manipulate-their-way-to-round-seven/#more-145110)

Trump Trade Czar Lighthizer
http://media.breitbart.com/media/2017/05/Robert-Lighthizer-640x480.png


Round six of NAFTA renegotiation talks continue today as Canada and Mexico claim cautious optimism that a round seven will take place.
This round of talks is scheduled to continue through Monday and end with a much anticipated a joint press conference
between Ildefonso Guajardo (Mex), Chrystia Freeland (Can) and U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer. There were seven rounds initially scheduled.

Big Corporate Agriculture (Big AG), the consortium of massive multinational agriculture companies who hold stakes in the entire continent,
are pushing hard to keep their “controlled market” dominance in place, and is attempting to stoke fears
using false claims about farms and negative trade impacts to farmers. Pure nonsense.

Canada and Mexico are trying to close less important, and less controversial, trade chapters in an effort to give the illusion of progress
and frame a political narrative that lends itself toward continuing to talk; ie. round seven.

However, if there’s no significant progress on the larger issues it’s doubtful Lighthizer will find value in endless words that amount to nothing.

The Major 'Sticking Points'

1) Rules of Origin; 2) Conflict Resolution; and 3) Sunset Provisions for renegotiation.




►Rules of Origin – Team U.S.A. wants car North American auto manufacturers to use at least 60% parts from within North America.
Team CanaMex wants to use fully assembled auto parts from China and Asia to assemble cars in Mexico and Canada and sell them as American made automobiles.






►Conflict Resolution. Team U.S.A. wants an independent panel to deal with trade disputes, comprised of officials in relationship to the size of each economy.
Team CanaMex (the parasites) want to be able to override any U.S. objections to their manufacturing outcomes. They demand equality in voting. The U.S. is the host.






►Sunset: Team U.S.A. wants the NAFTA agreement revisited, reviewed and renegotiated if needed, every five years. Some manufacturing sectors entirely change. [Example e-Commerce didn’t even exist when NAFTA was created, 25 years ago.]
Team CanaMex says no way. Whatever final trade deal is decided, is put upon the U.S. to deal with forever regardless of any changes in any sector.




It’s all smoke and mirrors at this point. Hopefully, Lighthizer will show up on Monday and simply say ‘enough, we’re done’.

End NAFTA and do bi-lateral trade deals where the size and scale of the U.S. market -our leverage-
determines a more favorable outcome for the U.S. against both Canada and Mexico.



https://theconservativetreehouse.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/trump-friends-2.jpg?w=640&h=640





We don't want America as the leader of the globalist empire.

That's exactly my Quandary: To strengthen America is to strengthen the Empire.
sad.

[goldenequity]

special bonus... :D

DAVOS: Maria Bartiromo Takes A Sledge Hammer To Union Organizer


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIDP8ohZqIk

Peter Jennings, general secretary of UNI Global Union, has said he hopes Trump will push for labor rights in the NAFTA renegotiations,
argued that Trump is not protecting the American worker because he’s not allowing the unions to flourish.

Jennings argued that Trump has not been doing enough for workers because he is hampering regulations
that union advocates pushed through during the previous administration.

[Swordsmyth]

That's exactly my Quandary: To strengthen America is to strengthen the Empire.
sad.

And if we don't strengthen America the empire will subjugate us, we must MAGA AND leave the empire.

[goldenequity]

And if we don't strengthen America the empire will subjugate us, we must MAGA AND leave the empire.

If wishes were fishes.. trump is a Carp. :D

[Swordsmyth]

NAFTA Countries Won't Issue Joint Statement
With the Montreal round of talks scheduled to end today ending on Monday, there was tentative optimism that North American trade negotiations would progress well. As Canada's CTV News (https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/new-optimism-emerging-at-nafta-talks-in-montreal-1.3778229)reported over the weekend, "the single biggest question looming over the current round of NAFTA negotiations was whether the talks might survive the phase where countries started seriously engaging each other on the more bedevilling sticking points." It added that "Early signs point to: Yes."

Glimmers of hope have emerged in a round viewed as a litmus test for whether these talks might move beyond an early stage marked by finger-pointing, standoffishness and threats of a U.S. withdrawal, and turn into real back-and-forth, give-and-take bargaining.
Several officials said the nearly completed week-long round in Montreal has been more constructive than gatherings of previous months, with countries diving into conversations about auto rules, dispute resolution, and a five-year review clause.
Negotiators closed a chapter on anti-corruption. They also plan to meet at future rounds in Mexico City and Washington over the next two months. And there's hope it won't be quite so hostile this time when the three politicians leading the process meet on Monday.
Unfortunately that optimism quickly fizzled moments ago following a Reuters headline that contrary to expectations, NAFTA countries won't be issuing a joint statement after the Montreal round of talks ends today, a clear sign that negotiations are hardly progressing in a favorable, cooperative manner

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-29/stocks-tumble-news-nafta-countries-wont-issue-joint-statement

[goldenequity]

Lighthizer @ 4:20


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpZMz7gUqeg

"Lighthizer blasted Canada for attempting to inject schemes, fraud and deceptive dealing within the negotiations... Chrystia Freeland (Can) tried to pretend they weren't."

TRANSCRIPT:

(skipping to the meat... @ 5:45)

Since we are in Canada, let me talk a bit about our bilateral trade relationship. I think there is some misunderstanding here that the United States is somehow being unfair in these negotiations and that is not the case.

Free trade agreements are essentially grants of preferential treatment to other countries in exchange for an approximately equal grant of preferential treatment in their economy. Thus, it is reasonable from time to time to assess whether the bargain has turned out to be equitable.

Using Canadian statistics, Canada sold the United States $298 billion U.S. dollars in goods in 2016, the last numbers that we have. We sold Canada $210 billion dollars in goods. Now that’s a lot of two-way trade, but it also means that Canada has an over $87 billion U.S. dollar surplus with the United States. To put this in perspective, that figure is equal to approximately 5.7 percent of Canada’s GDP. When energy is removed, and in some people’s opinion that’s a fair thing to do, the number is still $46 billion dollars. The projected figures for 2017 show that the surplus will be even larger when those numbers are in.

Now I ask Canadians because we’re in Canada, is it not fair for us to wonder whether this imbalance could in part be caused by the rules of NAFTA? Would Canada not ask this same question if the situation were reversed? So we need to modernize and we need to rebalance.

Now let me turn to the Sixth Negotiating Round and the status of our talks. We believe that some progress was made. We closed one chapter, as Ildefonso [Guajardo] said it was the chapter on corruption, which is a very important chapter, and we made some progress on a few others. More importantly though, we finally began to discuss some of the core issues. So this round was a step forward, but we are progressing very slowly.

We owe it to our citizens, who are operating in a state of uncertainty, to move much faster. Of course, negotiating as a group of three is more difficult than bilateral talks. Often, issues become more complicated and contentious when there are three parties.

I would like to comment on two proposals by the Canadians, one of which has been in the press quite a bit, and that is a presumed compromise on rules of origin.

We find that the automobile rules of origin idea that was presented, when analyzed (the deception exposed!), may actually lead to less regional content than we have now and fewer jobs in the United States, Canada, and likely Mexico. So this is the opposite of what we are trying to do.

In another proposal, Canada reserved the right to treat the United States and Mexico even worse than other countries if they enter into future agreements. Those other countries may, in fact, even include China, if there is an agreement between China and [Canada]. This proposal, I think if the United States had made it, would be dubbed a “poison pill.” We did not make it, though. Obviously, this is unacceptable to us, and my guess is it is to the Mexican side also.

Finally, I would like to refer, because I think it fits into this context to an unprecedented trade action that Canada brought against the United States very recently. It constitutes a massive attack on all of our trade laws. If it were successful, it would lead to more Chinese imports into the United States and likely fewer Canadian goods being sold in our market.

Now we understand that countries often challenge specific actions taken by another country in the context of trade laws. This is normal and what we expect. But this litigation essentially claims that 24 years ago, the United States effectively gave away its entire trade regime in the Uruguay Round. Of course, we view this case as frivolous, but it does make one wonder if all parties are truly committed to mutually beneficial trade. It also underscores why so many of us are concerned about binding dispute arbitration. What sovereign nation would trust to arbitrators or the flip of a coin their entire defense against unfair trade?

To conclude, some real headway was made here today. The United States views NAFTA as a very important agreement. We are committed to moving forward. I am hopeful progress will accelerate soon. We will work very hard between now and the beginning of the next round, and we hope for major breakthroughs during that period.

We will engage with both Mexico and Canada urgently, and we will go where these negotiations take us. Thank you very much.

[Swordsmyth]

NAFTA is a dead man walking.

[goldenequity]

Watch Weaction: Wilbur Weighs What's Weally Working..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY948z_F8do

[Swordsmyth]

The three ministers responsible for representing their respective countries during the seemingly never-ending Nafta talks (what round of talks is this, anyway? Third? Fourth? We forget...) met in Washington on Friday for a last-minute push (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-02/trump-pushing-nafta-deal-next-two-weeks) toward the elusive "agreement in principle" that President Trump had hoped to unveil at this week's pan-American summit in Lima, Peru.
However, despite the White House's willingness to cave on one of its most controversial demands (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-04/white-house-caves-key-nafta-demand) pertaining to automobile tariffs, the three sides once again failed to come to a consensus regarding the broad strokes of the deal. Now, Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta/no-nafta-deal-in-principle-to-be-announced-at-lima-summit-sources-idUSKBN1HF0YD) is reporting that - while significant progress has been made this week - talks between the three countries aren't advanced enough for a big announcement at this week's summit, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

Talks to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are not advanced enough for the United States, Mexico and Canada to announce a deal "in principle" at this month’s Summit of the Americas in Lima, according to two people familiar with matter.
The ministers responsible for NAFTA met on Friday in Washington, and said progress had been made on reworking the accord.
But there was still too much to do unveil an agreement at the April 13-14 summit, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
U.S. President Donald Trump, his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are due to attend the Lima gathering, and officials have held out hope for substantive progress on the renegotiation before the meeting.
Spokespeople for the Mexican economy ministry and Canada’s foreign ministry declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the office of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Of course, this isn't the first time the White House has hinted at the possibility of a breakthrough, only for it to swiftly be made apparent that the three sides remain about as far apart as they've ever been.
Lighthizer said last month that a deal would be forthcoming in the "next little bit." However, his Mexican and Canadian counterparts have been much more circumspect.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-08/preliminary-nafta-deal-wont-be-ready-time-pan-american-summit

[Swordsmyth]

Negotiators trying to hammer out a quick NAFTA deal said on Friday they will take a break until May 7, allowing time for consultations with the auto industry in Mexico and for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to visit China.The pause underlined how much work remains to be done to update the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico, especially relating to automotive content and production rules.
Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to nail down a deal, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland have been holding intense talks in Washington with Lighthizer since Tuesday.
The Trump administration has threatened to impose sanctions on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum on May 1 if it deems not enough progress has been made in the talks. It was not immediately clear if that deadline has also been postponed.

More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nafta-officials-put-top-level-talks-hold-until-011044574--finance.html

[Swordsmyth]

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that NAFTA negotiations must produce a finished text by May 17 or the current Congress will not legally be able to sign it, World Trade Online reported May 10.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situation-report/us-deadline-announced-nafta-negotiations

[Swordsmyth]

The top trade representatives of the United States, Mexico and Canada ended the latest round of talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade without a deal Friday, less than a week before an unofficial deadline to get any agreement through the U.S. Congress.Mexico's Economy Secretary said technical working groups from the three countries would meet again starting Monday. But Thursday probably marks the last day under procedural deadlines to get a vote under the current U.S. legislature.
Mexico disagrees with U.S. attempts to get higher regional content rules in the auto industry and orient production to higher-wage U.S. and Canadian factories.
A Mexican official who was not authorized to be quoted by name said the trade representatives would remain "on call" in case any last-minute deal is reached. But the official acknowledged it would be difficult, and suggested the U.S. would have to show some flexibility.
The U.S. also wants to change the dispute-resolution system, and include a sunset clause that would allow countries to exit after five years.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement that the talks "have covered a large number of very complex issues" including intellectual property, dairy and agriculture, energy, labor standards.
"The United States is ready to continue working with Mexico and Canada to achieve needed breakthroughs on these objectives," Lighthizer wrote. "Our teams will continue to be fully engaged."
President Donald Trump launched fresh criticism of NAFTA on Friday.
"NAFTA has been a terrible deal, we're renegotiating it now, let's see what happens," Trump said. "NAFTA has been a horrible, horrible disaster for this country, and we'll see if we can make it reasonable."
Time is also running out for Mexico, which will hold presidential elections on July 1. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the leftist candidate who leads in the polls, has said the re-negotiation shouldn't be rushed through and should be left to the winner of the July 1 vote.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mexico-faces-prospect-failure-nafta-talks-214648378--finance.html

[Swordsmyth]

Mexico’s chief trade negotiator says he doesn’t think talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will end before a Thursday deadline, making it unlikely the current Congress will vote on a new agreement.
“The possibility of having the entire negotiation done by Thursday isn’t easy, we don’t think it will happen by Thursday,” Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told the Televisa network, The Wall Street Journal reported (https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-doesnt-see-nafta-talks-wrapping-up-before-deadline-1526389121).

More at: http://thehill.com/policy/international/387858-mexico-doesnt-think-nafta-negotiations-will-be-done-by-deadline

[Swordsmyth]

The nation’s top trade official issued a frank and dour statement on Thursday about the state of negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (http://thehill.com/people/robert-bob-lighthizer) said that after nine months the United States, Mexico and Canada are still far from completing an update of the 24-year-old NAFTA deal with a slew of sticking points looming over the talks.

“The NAFTA countries are nowhere near close to a deal,” Lighthizer said in a statement.

“As I said last week, there are gaping differences on intellectual property, agricultural market access, de minimis levels, energy, labor, rules of origin, geographical indications and much more,” he said.

More at: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/388263-lighthizer-says-nafta-countries-are-nowhere-near-reaching-a-deal

[Swordsmyth]

Earlier in the day President Trump tweeted that "there will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers," promising that " After many decades of losing your jobs to other countries, you have waited long enough!"

There will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers. After many decades of losing your jobs to other countries, you have waited long enough!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2018 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/999278498182258688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) This was followed up during the day by hopeful comments from various officials in the NAFTA negotiations that prompted hope for a positive resolution for an auto trade deal - which sparked aggressive buying in the Mexican Peso.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018-05-23_17-24-14.jpg
However, it seems Trump's "big news" is perhaps 'less good' for the NAFTA deal as the president has just instructed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross “to consider initiating a Section 232 investigation into imports of automobiles, including trucks, and automotive parts to determine their effects on America’s national security."

Statement from the President on Potential National Security Investigation into Automobile Imports
Today, I met with Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to discuss the current state of our automobile industry.
I instructed Secretary Ross to consider initiating a Section 232 investigation into imports of automobiles, including trucks, and automotive parts to determine their effects on America’s national security.
Core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a Nation.
As a reminder, this is the same provision of U.S. trade law in March when he called for tariffs on foreign-made steel and aluminum.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018-05-23_17-33-25.jpg
As The Washington Post reports, (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-officials-weigh-25-percent-tax-on-imported-cars-in-a-bid-to-force-concessions-in-nafta-trade-talks/2018/05/23/76e72172-5eca-11e8-b2b8-08a538d9dbd6_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.01b3a5a34cb1) the Trump administration's move, trade analysts said, was designed to put pressure on Mexico during the final stages of negotiations for a new North American trade deal.

Negotiators for the United States, Mexico and Canada remain deadlocked over rules for granting duty-free status to vehicles under a new North American trade deal.
The talks have been underway for more than nine months and appear likely to continue into 2019, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said this week.
The threat to impose an import tax on cars was seen as an attempt to press Mexican officials to accept a U.S. demand for a higher percentage of auto content to be made in American factories.
Talks over a replacement for the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement among the United States, Mexico and Canada have made limited progress.
Negotiators remain divided on a host of contentious U.S. proposals, including a provision that would require the deal to be formally renewed every five years.
The proposed import tax was seen as an additional pressure point in the negotiations , with Mexico and Canada already scheduled to lose their exemption from Trump's metals tariffs in little more than a week.
"This has been discussed for some time, which makes me suspect that this is being leaked to put pressure on Mexico during NAFTA and on other parties seeking steel and aluminum exemptions ," said attorney Dan Ujczo of Dickinson Wright.
Initial reaction to the idea of an import tax on cars based on national security needs was unfriendly, with one veteran trade lawyer saying it would prompt "pant-wetting laughter — followed by retaliation" among U.S. trading partners.
So far no "pant-wetting laughter" but the peso is sliding lower.
Of course, this is not just NAFTA, as The FT notes, (https://www.ft.com/content/e77d0412-5edc-11e8-9334-2218e7146b04?emailId=5b060439d2df380004ac40a8&segmentId=3d08be62-315f-7330-5bbd-af33dc531acb) the national security investigation would clear the way for the imposition of new tariffs on cars from Europe, Japan and South Korea and lead to a major escalation of global trade tensions.
A unilateral move by the US to raise tariffs would also almost certainly be challenged at the World Trade Organization and lead to further retaliation by US trading partners.

“It’s flabbergasting. What makes the imports of cars a threat to the national security of the United States? It’s flagrant protectionism,” said one European official.
We suspect "who needs enemies" phrase will be heard tomorrow from America's European and Asia "allies."
So much for Mnuchin's plan. (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-23/trump-distances-himself-mnuchin-after-trade-hawks-knock-china-deal)



https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-23/trump-trounces-nafta-hopes-orders-national-security-probe-auto-imports

[Swordsmyth]

President Donald Trump intends to delay signing a revised version of the North American Free Trade Agreement until after the fall midterm elections, a move aimed at reaching a better deal with Canada and Mexico. Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday that he could quickly sign an agreement with the United States' neighbors, "but I'm not happy with it. I want to make it more fair." Asked about the timing of an agreement, Trump said: "I want to wait until after the election."

In the interview on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo," Trump again threatened to impose tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, saying, "The cars are the big ones." The move has been viewed as a possible negotiating ploy to restart NAFTA talks, which could resume following Sunday's elections in Mexico.

More at: http://www.startribune.com/trump-delaying-nafta-deal-until-after-midterm-elections/487056291/