Trump’s NAFTA Demands Could Crash the US Auto Industry

In a blog published this week, Mr Duvall said NAFTA had been a big success for United States agriculture and Canada and Mexico were the nation’s number 2 and 3 markets for agricultural exports but there other trade deals could be even more promising.

Negotiators are at loggerheads in at least 10 out of 33 negotiating tables in Montreal, Monette told reporters Thursday.

Now, with those negotiations imperiled over US demands, it appears that Trump may not have the legal authority to keep that promise.

An additional goal of the American Farm Bureau Federation, as well as President Trump and his trade team, is to make the agreement better for USA agriculture and other sectors of our economy.

Some representatives of the Canadian auto industry slammed Canada’s decision to sign a revised Trans-Pacific Partnership on Tuesday, calling the deal harmful to the auto sector and warning that it undermines Canada’s position in NAFTA negotiations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service explains, “With the productivity of U.S. agriculture growing faster than domestic food and fiber demand, U.S. farmers and agricultural firms rely heavily on export markets to sustain prices and revenues”.

Negotiators from all three countries have given themselves until March to finalize a renegotiation, a timeline that would see talks wrap up before the Mexican presidential election and the USA mid-term elections in November.

“Let’s see if that is reflected in the (talks) and what the United States will bring. We’re trying right now”, Trump said in an interview on CNBC Thursday from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

He said his group, as well as parent group the Citizens Trade Campaign, are concentrating on a revised rather than abandoned deal.

“There are no products made in North America today that would meet the USA proposal”, says Matt Blunt, former Missouri governor and current president of the American Automotive Policy Council.

The proposal from Canada is created to shift the conversation away from American demands for greater US and North American content for vehicles to qualify for duty-free movement across borders-a demand derided by the industry as destructive to North American competitiveness. “So the uncertainty, while we’re obviously going to be anxious, I think the Americans should not take USA for granted”. “This is a pretty important meeting because if there’s still no progress, the White House could become very frustrated and just throw up their hands and say, ‘We’re pulling out”‘. The message now? Other countries will leverage free trade with, or without, the U.S.

Contreras said NAFTA has been an essential factor in efforts to grow business not only in the Rio Grande Valley but also throughout the entire state.

Canadian officials are eager to keep alive the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Mexico hinted it could bend on automotive rules, one of the most explosive issues, while also saying that officials agree broadly on 40 percent of the pact.

The current NAFTA renegotiations between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico have major implications for American farmers, ranchers, and consumers, as shown by a new Heritage Foundation report.

These are only some of the examples of the progress made under President Trump on behalf of the agriculture community in America.