He said he would be ‘America First’, and he said the old deals sucked. Here’s what he’s planning to do about it.
Besides beating the hell out of the Dinosaur media (which never gets old, btw) there is one thing that he was uniquely well suited for as a Presidential Candidate.
‘The Art Of The Deal.’
He planned to revisit all the Trade deals America was in, ax the bad ones, and modify the rest so that we’re left holding the S*** end of the stick in all these deals anymore.
President Donald Trump vowed Monday to boost U.S. manufacturing by cutting the $64 billion trade deficit with Mexico as he showcased products made in all 50 states – everything from a fire truck to a baseball bat.
“No longer are we going to allow other countries to break the rules, to steal our jobs and drain our wealth,” Trump said at a White House event that spilled from the East Room to the South Lawn. -Read More
The NAFTA deal is 25 years old predating some things we now take for granted, including the electronic economy and the environmental movement’s effects on the economy.
Lighthizer enumerates several broad goals for the renegotiation process in his letter. Emphasizing that “our economy and businesses have changed considerably” since NAFTA was originally negotiated 25 years ago, he states that the administration will seek new provisions to address a number of issues, including intellectual-property rights, labor laws, and environmental regulations, as well as measures “establishing effective implementation and enforcement of the commitments made by our trading partners.” The White House published a more detailed list of proposed changes in an eight-page draft letter sent to Congress in March, in which the acting trade representative Stephen Vaughan listed 49 specific objectives across 19 categories, ranging from eliminating barriers on U.S. exports to addressing anti-competitive business practices in all three party countries. — the Atlantic
This is basically his starting point in the negotiations.
The U.S. says it wants more exports of its dairy products, wine and grains; freer trade in telecommunications and online purchases; new rules on currency manipulation; an overhaul of the dispute-settlement system; and more access for U.S. banks abroad.
A Washington-based trade expert who advises the Canadian government didn’t flinch when asked what this means for NAFTA talks, which are scheduled to start next month: “Longer, rather than shorter,” said Eric Miller, a consultant at Rideau Potomac who advises Industry Canada.
“It will be pretty intense and hard-fought. … Don’t expect it to be finished in less than eight months,” Miller said. “And expect Canada to have to fight hard for issues it cares about.”-Read More
Sure is nice to have someone advocating for America’s interests rather than to some vague ‘international community’, isn’t it?
