Trade Cases

Ross: NAFTA Partners Will “Come to their Senses”
Written by Sandy Williams
November 15, 2017
Canada and Mexico will “come to their senses and make a sensible deal” for NAFTA, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council on Thursday.
Ross defended U.S. NAFTA negotiating tactics, saying Mexico and Canada have more to lose than the United States if the NAFTA agreement collapses. He called a U.S. withdrawal from the agreement “devastating to the Mexican economy” and a “big-time problem for Canada.”
The U.S. team hopes to gain concessions by threatening to withdraw from the agreement that President Trump has called “a disaster.”
Although Ross asserts that the U.S. has significant leverage over its trading partners in the negotiations, U.S. business leaders disagree, pointing to recent expansion of exports from Canada and Mexico to new markets.
The U.S. has put forth several proposals that have met resistance not only from Canada and Mexico, but from U.S industry leaders. Among the more contentious proposals are a five-year “sunset” clause for the agreement, rules of origin favoring the U.S., tighter government procurement requirements, and elimination of dispute settlement mechanisms.
Ross complained to CEOs at the Council meeting about criticism from business and lawmakers regarding the administration’s NAFTA negotiating strategy.
“It’s much better to negotiate anything in a conference room than in an open stadium,” said Ross. “That’s a very big complication.”
He explained that “as one special-interest group—agriculture, for example—gets nervous, they start screaming and yelling publicly. Then Congress people start screaming and yelling publicly, and that just complicates the negotiations. Frankly, it makes the negotiations harder.”
The next round of meetings is scheduled for Nov. 17-21, but some negotiating groups will meet Nov. 15. The ministers representing the three countries will not attend the fifth round, having met on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vietnam last week.
Little progress on the more volatile issues is expected during this round of negotiations. A mini-round of talks is scheduled—without the ministers–for Dec. 11-16.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Trade Cases
Price on Trade: The foolishness of free trade with controlled economies
It was only a matter of time before a shutdown happened. And, no, we aren’t talking about the federal government’s lapse in appropriations. On Oct. 9, Beijing announced a series of restrictions that will effectively shut down exports of rare earth elements, magnets, and certain downstream products vital to advanced manufacturing.
Trump pulls plug on trade talks with Canada after anti-tariff Reagan ad
US President Donald Trump took to social media late Thursday night to announce he was canceling trade talks with Canada.
Leibowitz: Renewed trade war with China over rare earths
On Oct.10, President Trump announced major increases in tariffs on Chinese goods. The trigger was a new regime of export controls on rare earth metals and products using those elements, including magnets, capital equipment, and catalysts for catalytic converters in cars and trucks.
Industry piles on new Section 232 steel derivative inclusion requests
The Department of Commerce received 97 submissions from producers, manufacturers, and groups seeking Section 232 tariff coverage for steel and aluminum derivative products.
Price on Trade: New EU steel tariffs don’t mean the US should weaken its stance
Any steel imports into the EU that exceed the new, lower quota level would be subject to a 50% tariff, which represents a major increase from the EU’s current 25% out-of-quota tariff. This move would largely align the EU’s steel tariff rate with Canada and the United States.
