4/5/2018

CANADA/CHINA/MEXICO/NAFTA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “After months of fraught negotiations and stalled talks, the Trump administration is aiming to announce a preliminary deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement this month, moving to resolve one trading conflict as a separate clash with China looms. A final agreement is far from guaranteed, but the White House is revising some of its more aggressive demands, particularly related to automobiles, which had been a source of tension with Canada and Mexico. A new proposal would require an automobile to contain components made by workers earning a specific wage level to qualify for Nafta’s preferential tariffs. The administration had previously demanded that vehicles contain a large percentage of auto parts produced in the United States. The new proposal is aimed at stopping United States automakers from shifting production to Mexico in search of cheap labor, according to people familiar with the plan.”

Ana Swanson, “White House Tries to Pull Nafta Back From Brink as Deadlines Loom,” The New York Times online, April 5, 2018