6/5/2018

NAFTA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration added another complication to already fractious talks with Canada and Mexico on Tuesday [6-5-18], suggesting that President Trump now wants to negotiate separate bilateral deals with those nations rather than continue three-country discussions to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement. ‘His preference now, and he asked me to convey this, is to actually negotiate with Mexico and Canada separately,’ Larry Kudlow, the White House chief economic adviser, said of the president on Fox & Friends Tuesday morning. Mr. Kudlow said pursuing separate deals might allow an agreement to be reached ‘more rapidly,’ adding: ‘I think that’s the key point. You know, Nafta has kind of dragged on.’ The comments echo previous musings by Mr. Trump and are only likely to inflame tensions with Canada and Mexico, which are already reeling from Mr. Trump’s imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs and his suggestion that tariffs on autos might come next. Relations with Canada and Mexico are more strained than at any time during the president’s tenure, and the clock has essentially run out for the administration to secure a Nafta deal this year.”

-Ana Swanson and Jim Tankersley, “Trump Signals He Wants Separate Trade Deals With Canada and Mexico,” The New York Times online, June 5, 2018