“It’s very unfair to the American worker, and very, very unfair to companies that do business in the United States“.
“The National Corn Growers Association will work closely with the Trump Administration and Congress to build on the successful trade relationship we have with Canada and Mexico”.
“If the administration intends on renegotiating NAFTA, it must guarantee growers that new terms won’t reverse the significant benefits for US wheat farmers, like duty free access”, said David Schemm, president of the North American Wheat Growers.
“Since the signing of NAFTA, we have seen our manufacturing industry decimated, factories shuttered, and countless workers left jobless”.
There were reports in April that Trump was considering an executive order to withdraw the usa from NAFTA.
Recently the Trump administration announced a mini-deal with China on trade – the first fruits of a larger effort to renegotiate the U.S. He repeatedly complained that bad trade deals had cost America jobs and this gained him support among the working class voters, who were instrumental to his winning the elections. The National Potato Council (NPC) applauded the Trump Administration’s announcement to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The notification begins a 90-day period in which Trump trade officials must consult with Congress on the objectives of the trade talks.
“We understand that this is a 25-year-old agreement”, he said. Many chapters are outdated and do not reflect modern standards.
Mexico also said it expects a “constructive” negotiation.
The negotiations could begin as early as August 16. “Obviously, dairy trade with Canada – where we continue to face 200%-300% tariffs and a slew of nontariff policies that distort dairy trade – is an entirely different story, and we need to address it as part of these talks”.
Mexico, however, has taken a slightly different line on the issue, saying it is ready to “modernize” NAFTA rather than renegotiate it. “Central to any successful NAFTA negotiations will be changes to Canada’s new policies created to harm bilateral trade and dump their structural dairy surplus on the world market”.
Also asked whether the sugar conflict with Mexico and the softwood lumber conflict with Canada will be in the negotiations, he said he hopes those talks, which the Commerce Department is handling, will be completed before the NAFTA negotiations. She defended the trade deal, which has been updated 11 times, but stressed that Canada will seek to get the best deal for its citizens.
In advance of renegotiations, the administration has sparred with Canada over affordable Canadian timber and Canadian barriers to USA dairy products. But in an earlier statement she stressed that many USA jobs depend on NAFTA which has created growth throughout the region.
Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada was “steadfastly committed to free trade in the North American region”, noting that nine million American jobs depend on trade and investment with Canada.
