NAFTA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The biggest business organization in the U.S. is opposing key proposals by the Trump administration to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement, adding to growing tensions over the ongoing negotiations.
‘We’re increasingly concerned about the state of play in negotiations,’ John Murphy, senior vice president for international policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told reporters Friday in Washington. U.S. businesses are unnerved by proposals by American negotiators to add a five-year termination clause to Nafta, roll back the access of Canadian and Mexican firms to U.S. procurement contracts, and raise so-called rules of origin thresholds to ‘extreme’ levels, Murphy said…
The warning is the latest sign that negotiations are on the verge of derailing, less than two months after talks began. U.S. demands on issues such as procurement and textiles were opposed by Canadian and Mexican officials at the last round in Ottawa last month. The industry publication Inside Trade reported Thursday that the U.S. is proposing to raise the minimum for North American content in the auto sector to 85 percent from 62.5 percent, while adding a requirement for 50 percent U.S. content…
The sides are aiming to secure a deal by year-end before the political calendar fills up next year with Mexican presidential elections and U.S. Congressional mid-terms.”
-Andrew Mayeda, “U.S. Chamber Warns of ‘Dangerous’ Trump Nafta Proposals,” Bloomberg, Oct. 6, 2017 07:50am