NAFTA/TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Trump administration trade officials want a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement to improve access for U.S. farm products, manufactured goods and services in Canada and Mexico, said lawmakers who met with them on Tuesday [3-28-17].
Members of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee met with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and acting U.S. Trade Representative Stephen Vaughn to discuss the administration’s plans for renegotiating the 23-year-old trade deal.
Representative Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat, said Ross told lawmakers in the closed-door session that the administration was still aiming to complete NAFTA renegotiations by the end of 2017.
That time frame is viewed by some members as ‘ambitious,’ especially because it is not clear when the administration will formally notify Congress of its intention to launch NAFTA renegotiations, Pascrell said.
The notification will trigger a 90-day consultation period before substantial talks can begin. Tuesday’s meeting was a legal requirement to prepare the notification and preserve the ‘fast track’ authority for approving a renegotiated deal with only an up-or-down vote in Congress.”
-David Lawder, “Trump team wants more NAFTA access for U.S. goods, services: lawmakers,” Reuters, March 28, 2017 4:33pm