NAFTA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s top trade official wants to finish a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement by the middle of the month to get a revised pact to a vote in Congress by the end of this year. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a gathering at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday [5-1-18] that he hoped to strike a deal with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts within a week or two after high-level talks resume next week. He said a delay beyond that time frame risked ‘having a problem’ in getting the new Nafta to a vote in Congress this year, he said. The Trump administration is eager to get a revised Nafta to the House and Senate before January. A large number of House Republicans are set to retire at the end of the year. If the Democrats win control of the House in what is expected to be a tough election year for the GOP, they could block efforts to enact Nafta or other parts of Mr. Trump’s agenda.”
-William Mauldin, “Trump Trade Chief Wants Nafta Deal by Mid-May,” The Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2018 4:37 pm