Connect with us

American News

U.S. releases list reflecting tougher NAFTA negotiating positions

Published

on

FILE: Logo of NAFTA (Photo By Keepscases - Own workVectorized from http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/, CC BY-SA 3.0)

FILE: Logo of NAFTA (Photo By Keepscases – Own workVectorized from http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MEXICO CITY — The United States has published an updated list of NAFTA negotiating objectives to reflect some of its tougher-than-anticipated demands in a reminder of the difficult hoeing ahead as parties seek fertile ground for a deal.

The U.S. trade czar’s office released the new list on Friday just as the three chief negotiators began meeting in Mexico City for their first encounter after an acrimonious round revealed huge differences.

Sources say Canada and Mexico will start the months-long task of probing the U.S. for signs of willingness to compromise, though they expect little progress on the toughest sticking points for another few rounds.

A new document from the American side illustrated those big gaps.

The U.S. released an updated version of a July document published before negotiations started, in keeping with transparency requirements under American trade law. The new list includes tougher language on Canadian dairy, auto parts and Buy American rules, reflecting negotiating demands adopted in recent weeks.

“(Our) objectives represent a serious effort to renegotiate the agreement to update its provisions to the best 21st century standards and rebalance the benefits of the deal so that each country succeeds. … If these objectives are achieved, the United States will obtain more open, equitable, secure and reciprocal market access and the entire NAFTA region will benefit,” says the document.

Major changes from the previous version of the document released four months ago include:

—On auto parts, ensuring that rules of origin promote production in North America as well as “specifically in the United States.” That reflects a U.S. demand at the last round that cars must include 50 per cent U.S. content and 85 per cent content from North America overall, to avoid a tariff.

—Ensuring reciprocity in market access for public-works contracts. This reflects an American demand that would limit access to Canadian and Mexican companies to one dollar in public contracts for every dollar American companies receive in those countries.

—Eliminating Canadian tariffs on imports of dairy, poultry, and egg products. The July document did not specifically mention eliminating Canada’s supply management system. But at the previous negotiating round in October, the U.S. requested supply management’s elimination within 10 years.

All these demands, and some others, have been deemed non-starters by Canada and Mexico.

But those two are starting to demonstrate a willingness to seek compromises on some areas. For instance, both Canada and Mexico say they could envision some form of review mechanism every few years to provide status reports on the agreement.

That proposal falls short of the U.S. demand for a so-called five-year sunset clause. In the U.S. position, NAFTA should come with a proviso that the deal gets cancelled unless all parties endorse it after five years.

A rare hint of potential compromise from the U.S. came in the portion of Friday’s document referring to that sunset clause. The new U.S. position paper avoids mentioning a five-year cancellation threat, and actually contains language much more palatable to Canada and Mexico.

The new document describes the U.S. position on the so-called sunset clause the following way: “Provide a mechanism for ensuring that the parties assess the benefits of the agreement on a periodic basis,” which sounds closer to the types of periodic reviews Canada and Mexico might be willing to live with.

Canada also intends to signal its willingness to review auto-parts rules. But again, it views the U.S. starting numbers to be well outside the bounds of an acceptable final compromise.

“We’re willing to talk about rules of origin,” said one Canadian official. “But certain figures, or certain proposals, are just not-starters … There are certain starting points that are just unworkable.”

It’s considered doubtful too much progress on the thorny issues will happen at the current round, which ends next week. Canadian officials say they anticipate progress on less-controversial issues like digital commerce, regulatory co-operation and labour and the environment.

But they expect the more intense decision-making to ramp up in the first quarter of next year, as the talks get closer to the hoped-for deadline of March. In the meantime, they will be looking for signs of potential common ground with American negotiators and watching whether the U.S. president escalates his threats to cancel NAFTA.

Canadian union leader Jerry Dias said the sides are frozen far apart. The Unifor boss met with Canada’s chief negotiator at the talks, and suggested Steve Verheul and his American counterparts weren’t doing much budging on the big issues.

“He’s showing as much flexibility as the United States is,” Dias said, when asked about the chat with Verheul. Dias also said there’s little room for Canada to cede much ground: “Nobody’s going to capitulate to Trump. Trump is wholly unpopular in Canada and Mexico. So nobody really wants to make it look like a Donald Trump victory party.”

 

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maria in Vancouver

Lifestyle8 hours ago

How I Got My Groove Back

Life is not life if it’s just plain sailing! Real life is all about the ups and downs and most...

Lifestyle1 week ago

Upgrade Your Life in 2025

It’s a brand new year and a wonderful opportunity to become a brand new you! The word upgrade can mean...

Maria in Vancouver4 weeks ago

Fantabulous Christmas Party Ideas

It’s that special and merry time of the year when you get to have a wonderful excuse to celebrate amongst...

Lifestyle1 month ago

How To Do Christmas & Hanukkah This Year

Christmas 2024 is literally just around the corner! Here in Vancouver, we just finished celebrating Taylor Swift’s last leg of...

Lifestyle2 months ago

Nobody Wants This…IRL (In Real Life)

Just like everyone else who’s binged on Netflix series, “Nobody Wants This” — a romcom about a newly single rabbi...

Lifestyle2 months ago

Family Estrangement: Why It’s Okay

Family estrangement is the absence of a previously long-standing relationship between family members via emotional or physical distancing to the...

Lifestyle4 months ago

Becoming Your Best Version

By Matter Laurel-Zalko As a woman, I’m constantly evolving. I’m constantly changing towards my better version each year. Actually, I’m...

Lifestyle4 months ago

The True Power of Manifestation

I truly believe in the power of our imagination and that what we believe in our lives is an actual...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

DECORATE YOUR HOME 101

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Our home interiors are an insight into our brains and our hearts. It is our own collaboration...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

Guide to Planning a Wedding in 2 Months

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Are you recently engaged and find yourself in a bit of a pickle because you and your...