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Reworked NAFTA Treaty Expected In Mid-2018

The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, has been a hot-button issue over the past year. Political figures on both sides of the aisle have cursed the deal and stated it has hurt the United States as a global industry player.

President Donald Trump has promised to change that and now, we may have a timeline as to when we can expect to see progress. U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer, Thomas Donohue, told Reuters policymakers are aware there must be a new deal put in place without disrupting business.

“We’re not going to be fooling around with this deal in 2018,” he said in an interview on a visit to Mexico City where he will meet policymakers and make the case for free trade.

While Trump calls for renegotiation, defenders of the treaty state it has benefited all three countries involved — Canada, the U.S. and Mexico — and specifically has allowed the U.S. to compete in a global market.

The U.S. government has not notified congress of its intent to launch NAFTA renegotiations, which carries a 90 day wait period with. Talks may not begin until August, per the report.

However, when asked if a reworked deal could be in place by July of 2018, Donohue was blunt.

“Yes. That’s my opinion. That’s my view. The bottom line is we need to move forward on this deal. It is critical to our economic and geopolitical well-being. Period.”

Automakers have been in the crosshairs of NAFTA since now President Trump began campaigning. Specifically, then President-elect Trump called for a 35 percent border tax on U.S. automakers bringing their vehicles back into the country after being assembled in Mexico. GM was singled out amid it all.

Former GM Authority staff writer.

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Comments

  1. Trump flunked geography! “American” means all the nations in the two American continents, and that includes both Canada and Mexico for North America. Second, the assembly cost of each vehicle is just hundreds of dollars, but the biggest profits stays with the brand, which is domestic. Third, he himself has his (and his wife’s) clothes brands manufactured outside of the U.S. yet he gets all the profits. So, if he wants to keep jobs in the U.S. or in “America”, he should tax all the imports from the foreign brands (even if assembled in the U.S.), since their nations do apply tariffs to the U.S. brands. Less imports sales will increase domestic sales, which is more profits and more taxes. The U.S. government wins twice!

    Reply
    1. As a Canadian, I will tell you right now that “American” most definitely does not mean “our continents”.

      Americas, yes. North America or North American, yes. But straight out using the term “American” means the USA. Ever since you named your country off of a continent and forgot to include North. It’s also insulting to Canadians and I’m sure Mexicans feel the same way.

      Reply

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