Trump yesterday announced the USA-Canada trade agreement, less than a week after the USA-Mexico changes to NAFTA. Like Mexico, the Canada deal is minor changes to auto quotas that will have no impact on Canada’s current 2 million auto exports to the US. No changes in the trade dispute mechanism Trump previously declared was non-negotiable. Only a 3.5% increase in US dairy farmers sales into Canada. No changes to steel tariffs, etc. Hardly a ‘I’ll tear up NAFTA if elected’ Trump campaign promise. The big change: cross out the word NAFTA and replace it with ‘USMCA’.
The Canada-USA deal replicates the agreement last week with Mexico. Again no change to steel imports. A ‘side letter’ with Mexico freezing US tariffs, as is, for the term of the new deal, in exchange for Mexico raising auto workers wages to $16/hr.–sometime in the future (and on only 40% of auto workers)–and token increase in north american content from 62.5% to 75%.
NAFTA changes reflect Trump’s phony trade war with US trading allies. USMCA a repeat of USA-So. Korea softball deal of several months ago (signed last week). Trump suspended threats on Europe tariffs and lifted them on Brazil and others as well. So where’s the ‘Trade War’? It’s with China and is coming.
Meanwhile, Trump gets to engage in typical bombast, hyperbole, misrepresentation and lies to his domestic political base about how he’s making trading allies ‘cave in’ to his demands. Only that’s what is not happening at all.
For more of my commentary, listen to the ‘Critical Hour’ radio show (first 18 minutes) of October 2, 2018,
GO TO:
https://sputniknews.com/radio_the_critical_hour/201810021068504114-usmca-nafta-kavanaugh/
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