Democrats in the House insisted that their ideas about how to verify compliance with Mexico's labor laws is a balanced one that respects their sovereignty. Chief Mexican negotiator on USMCA, Jesus Seade, wrote a column published Dec. 4 that said, in Spanish, that there will be no “transnational inspectors,” even though the U.S. has pushed so much for that approach. "If the U.S. stops insisting on the pair of unacceptable ideas that the [Mexican trade group CCE] statement yesterday speaks of, we can soon have a treaty, and a very good treaty," he wrote (see 1912030033). He said that the state-to-state dispute settlement system, broken in NAFTA, "will now be 100% repaired, for all topics and sectors under the treaty."
Exactly how the U.S. Trade Representative has agreed to change the 10-year biologics exclusivity period in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is unclear, but insiders are saying it will be less favorable to the pharmaceutical industry.
Two prominent Republicans questioned the suitability of switching tariffs for quotas because of currency manipulation in Brazil and Argentina, as President Donald Trump said Dec. 2 he is doing. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., the leading critic of Trump's trade policy, issued a statement that night that said, “He is justifying these tariffs by citing Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. This provision is exclusively meant for national security threats. Yet, the President has acknowledged that the real purpose of this action is to combat currency manipulation -- which does not pose a national security threat. Furthermore, even if this action were legitimate, the statutory window for imposing these tariffs has closed. These actions further underscore that Congress should take up my legislation that would reassert congressional authority regarding imposition of national security tariffs.”
A Mexican business group representing manufacturers, agriculture, banking and retailers says it is very concerned that certain labor demands from U.S. politicians in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement are extreme in nature “and are totally unacceptable,” the Consejo Coordinador Empresarial wrote in a press release Dec. 2, adding bold for emphasis. These proposals could severely affect Mexico's competitiveness, the CCE said. It also said “respect for Mexico's sovereignty is non-negotiable.”
President Donald Trump has “no deadline” for striking a trade deal with China, he told reporters Dec. 3 during a meeting in London. “I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal,” he said. The Chinese “want to make a deal now, and we’ll see whether or not the deal’s going to be right,” he said. “It’s got to be right.” A trade agreement is “dependent on one thing -- do I want to make it?” Trump said. “We’re doing very well with China right now. We can do even better with the flick of a pen.” China didn’t immediately comment. Extending the U.S.-China trade war for another year past the 2020 election would be a “bad deal” for “every segment of the economy,” said David French, senior vice president-government relations at the National Retail Federation. “We want and need to see a deal as soon as possible,” said French. Four rounds of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods at 15 percent and higher “continue to hurt U.S. businesses, workers and consumers and are a substantial drag on the U.S. economy,” he said.
The top negotiator for Mexico on the new NAFTA told reporters in Canada on Nov. 29, “I think we are almost there.” Jesus Seade, who was in Canada meeting with his counterparts, had been in Washington the day before Thanksgiving to talk to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer about whether Mexico could live with the edits to the new NAFTA the Democrats had asked for. Seade told reporters that the edits might be finalized “sometime in the next week,” but if not then, he said he hopes it will be before Congress leaves town for the Christmas holiday. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a speech on the Senate floor Dec. 2 that “if a deal cannot be reached by the end of this week, I do not see how USMCA can be ratified in 2019. As it is, the window of opportunity for 2019 is extremely tight.”
Easing tariffs on U.S. pork exports to China would significantly help both the U.S. agricultural economy and the U.S.’s trade deficit with China, the National Pork Producers Council said in a Nov. 26 press release. An analysis by the NPPC and Iowa State University shows U.S. pork sales would generate more than $24 billion in sales over the next 10 years if tariffs on imports to China were eliminated. “Were it not for China’s tariffs that are severely limiting access to American goods and other restrictions, including customs clearance delays, U.S. pork could be an economic powerhouse, creating thousands of new jobs, expanding sales and dramatically slashing our nation’s trade deficit,” Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes said in a statement.
Japan, China and South Korea will hold the 16th round of trade negotiations this week in Seoul, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Nov. 26. The negotiations will feature a “broad discussion” on market access and rules, specifically surrounding e-commerce and intellectual property, Japan said.
The European Union-Singapore free trade deal offers wide-ranging benefits for companies, although some businesses may only be aware of the deal’s reduced and eliminated tariffs, according to a Nov. 21 alert from PricewaterhouseCoopers. While the agreement (see 1911080069) does present “significant tariff reduction,” it also removed a range of non-tariff barriers; offers greater market access in electronics, environmental and computing sectors; and provides greater intellectual property protection and access to government contracts.
The elimination of tariffs is an important condition for the U.S. and China to reach an agreement, said China Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng during a press conference Nov. 14, according to an unofficial translation of a transcript. If a first phase agreement is reached between the two countries, the extent of the tariff cancellation should fully reflect the magnitude of the deal, Gao said. The two sides are discussing this in depth, and China is willing to work together with the U.S. to resolve each other’s core concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect, he said.