Canada, Mexico, U.S. Reach New NAFTA Deal
New rules for cars and labor.
NAFTA is now called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, after the three countries reached a new deal late Sunday night. From The Wall Street Journal:
The biggest impact is expected to be on the region’s largest industry, autos, requiring a greater portion of vehicles to be made in North America and with high-wage labor in the U.S. and Canada.
The new deal for the first time sets rules for financial-services and digital businesses that have emerged since the bloc was created, aimed at pleasing sectors from drugmakers to Wall Street.
One of Canada’s last-minute concessions made to finalize the broader agreement was a pledge to curb protection for its dairy industry, a policy Mr. Trump has frequently criticized as unfairly restricting American exports.
The U.S. in turn compromised by dropping its demands to scrap the original treaty’s Chapter 19 provisions, or the special Nafta courts allowing member states to challenge trade restrictions imposed by the others.
Joint US-#Canada announcement on trade pact to replace #NAFTA. pic.twitter.com/eGQIAr79NL
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) October 1, 2018
“It’s a good day for Canada,” says Trudeau after agreeing to #NAFTA replacement #USMCA that will include Mexico pic.twitter.com/TM4oSUhtlN
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) October 1, 2018
Congress needed the agreement “by midnight to proceed under complicated ‘fast track’ trade rules.” The leaders of the countries will likely sign it within 60 days.
When it comes to automobiles, those with “75 percent of its components manufactured in Canada, Mexico or the United States” will qualify for zero tariffs while those autos “should have at least 30 percent of the work on the vehicle done by worker earning $16 an hour. That gradually moves up to 40 percent for cars by 2023.”
Canada also opened up its dairy market to America, which is YUGE due to Canada’s complex dairy market. Canada limits “how much dairy can be produced in the country and how much foreign dairy can enter to keep milk prices high” in an effort to keep the dairy farmers from going into bankruptcy:
U.S. negotiators say they got a major victory by forcing Canada to eliminate the pricing scheme for so-called “Class 7” dairy products. That means U.S. dairy farmers can likely send a lot more milk protein concentrate, skim milk powder and infant formula to Canada (and those products are relatively easy to transport and store).
Chapter 19 remains intact to the delight of the Canadians:
Chapter 19 allows Canada, Mexico and the United States to challenge each other’s anti-dumping and countervailing duties in front of a panel of representatives from each country. This is generally a much easier process than trying to challenge a trade practice in a U.S. court. Over the years, Canada has successfully used Chapter 19 to challenge the United States on its softwood lumber restrictions.
Canada and Mexico received assurance that President Donald Trump will not “pound them with auto tariffs.” However, the steel tariffs remain for now.
Democrats and unions enjoy the new labor and environment rules:
The new USMCA makes a number of significant upgrades to environmental and labor regulations, especially regarding Mexico. For example, USMCA stipulates that Mexican trucks that cross the border into the United States must meet higher safety regulations and Mexican workers must have more ability to organize and form unions. Some of these provisions might be difficult to enforce, but the Trump administration says it is committed to ensuring these happen — a reason U.S. labor unions and some Democrats are cheering the new rules.
Reactions
I’m not lying when I say that unions like the new labor rules. The Teamsters approved of this language in the deal:
Many labor officials say they’ve been pleasantly surprised with strong language in the agreement pushing Mexico to bolster its unions, including protecting “the right to strike.” American unions have argued that the lack of such provisions in the original Nafta meant the pact encouraged factories to relocate south of the border in search of cheaper workers.
“We…note with approval the considerable progress on workers’ rights,” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said in a statement, calling them “superior to the original Nafta, and also to the Trans-Pacific Partnership” negotiated by President Obama. (Mr. Hoffa was also pleased with Mr. Lighthizer’s success in getting Mexico to agree to a longstanding Teamsters demand imposing new restrictions on Mexican trucking in the U.S.)
Lori Wallach at the left-leaning Public citizen said this “deal includes some important improvements which we have long advocated.” Ian Bremmer even called it a win.
USMCA is not an entirely new deal, but it’s more than a tweak on NAFTA.
Improved IP protections, new auto rules, expanded access to Canada dairy, improved labor/environment regs, and more.
Trump will exaggerate the win.
But it’s a win.— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) October 1, 2018
l’m hardly a Trump fan.
But give credit where credit is due.New NAFTA/USMCA deal is a win.
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) October 1, 2018
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Comments
oh Lord! A picture is worth a gazillion words.
Little Justin looks like he should be sucking his thumb and cuddling his security blanket.
He’s got the knees-together technique down pat, now if he can just perfect the Duchess-Slant, girlie-man Justin will be a well-turned-out effeminate,
https://www.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/royalty/2018062749790/meghan-markle-princess-diana-slant/0-244-910/princess-diana-meghan-slant-t.jpg
He didn’t learn the knees together bit from his mom.
In the WSJ this morning they didn’t give Trump any credit for this breakthrough. In fact, they said that because of the agreement his THREATS against Canada would no longer be a threat! It is becoming harder and harder for the msm to not give him any credit for his accomplishments.
The MSM bends itself into a pretzel trying not to give Trump his due.
“Chapter 19 allows Canada, Mexico and the United States to challenge each other’s anti-dumping and countervailing duties in front of a panel of representatives from each country.”
Well, that’s too bad; we’ll still have two wolves and a sheep deciding what’s for dinner.
While we were all busy with the Supreme Court nomination, somebody else kept his eye on the ball re NAFTA. Somebody, I say, somebody, has superb executive ability.
Brings to mind:
“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;” (If by Rudyard Kipling)
President Trump keeps chug, chug, chuggin’ along. Maybe, it’s a good thing that Congress is embroiled as they air. While they’re distracted, he’s hard at work keeping his campaign promises.
Surprise, surprise, surprise.
No deal is ever “perfect”, as it is always based upon compromise. However, the deal is much more beneficial to Mexico, in the eyes of a socialism President, such as Obrado. By forcing manufacturers to raise the wages of workers in certain industries, in order to trade with the US, this will force a rise in wages across all industries. In other words, it accomplishes a transfer of wealth to the worker class, as well as an increase in taxes. So, as long as the US does not impose tariffs or other trade restrictions which hurt Mexico, it is unlikely that Mexico would side with Canada. After all, the US can always exit this trade agreement as it did NAFTA.
Also, if the country of origin restrictions, as reported in the Mexico-US trade agreement, now also apply to Canada, it will be a boon to Canadian workers, in the industries which are now merely pass-through organs for goods manufactured outside Canada for import into the US. It should also stimulate the Conservative party and New Democrat party in Canada, which will likely reduce the Liberal party dominance.
Trudeau’s not manspreading. He’s…girlsqueezing?
Hmmm. Where’s the guy that called us all idiots and liars for claiming Trump’s tariffs were leverage to negotiate a better trade deal?
If you’re going to be that arrogant and obnoxious about a topic, have the integrity to show up in this thread and eat a little crow.
Instead, he’s hiding out.
Where’s the guy who lies about “all of us”? Oh, right HERE…!!!
Read up on the South Korean “free trade deal”. Which is no such thing, but is lied about by your cult leader.
If YOU’RE going to be arrogant and obnoxious about stuff you can’t comprehend, at least TRY to aquatint yourself with the facts and sound economics.
Then we can talk…
So you got nothing to say about this new trade deal with Mexico and Canada?
Every prediction you made was wrong. And you insulted everyone who disagreed with you.
Integrity check. …
We don’t know the details yet, do we?
I like information before crowing.
But I DO know that T-rump calling the abomination with South Korea a “free trade agreement” is a damned lie.
Integrity check…
You were more than willing to pass judgement before you knew any details. What’s changed?
You mean on the history of protectionist tariffs, which alllllll indicates they are net job killers, corrupt, and BIG GOVERNMENT, Bernie Sanders “economics”?
I can do that, Mrs. Ford.
I deal in reality, not your uncorroborated bullshit.
See? You are asked about Mexico and Canada but try to select to South Korea instead.
You are asked why you want more details now when you didn’t before, and you dishonestly rephrase that question.
You’re a hack.
Deflect not select. Stupid autocorrect
See. You lie like a Pelosi. I pointed out that I don’t have details on Mexico or Canada, and pointed to an instance where we do…South Korea.
And I cited to what we do know about protectionist tariffs.
You lied and deflected.
Lol. You just admitted you changed the subject.
My question was: you didn’t have details when you came out against this, so why do you want to wait for details now? Ie what has changed?
Can you answer the question or not?
You mean on the history of protectionist tariffs, which alllllll indicates they are net job killers, corrupt, and BIG GOVERNMENT, Bernie Sanders “economics”?
I can do that, Mrs. Ford.
I deal in reality, not your uncorroborated bullshit.