[CTC] U.S. Firms Add Jobs, but Mostly Overseas

[Arthur Stamoulis]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-23/mexico-says-u-s-stalling-on-adding-nation-to-pacific-trade-deal.html

Mexico Says U.S. Stalling on Adding Nation to Pacific Trade Deal

By Nacha Cattan and Eric Martin - Apr 23, 2012 1:00 AM ET  Mon Apr 23  
05:00:01 GMT 2012

Mexico’s Economy Minister expressed frustration over what he said was  
the Obama administration’s delay in adding the nation to Pacific trade  
talks.

Mexico’s entry to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a sweeping deal that  
seeks to boost trade links between the Americas andAsia, is already  
supported by the private sector in all nine countries involved in the  
talks, Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari said in an interview. Mexico is  
closer to winning approval than Japan and Canada, who are also seeking  
to join negotiations, Ferrari said.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk met with officials from Mexico and  
Canada this month in Washington during a visit by Mexican President  
Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime MinisterStephen Harper. The three  
nations are already bound together by the North American Free Trade  
Agreement that took effect in 1994. Standing beside his Nafta partners  
in the Rose Garden, President Barack Obama said the Pacific deal’s  
current partners are discussing how new members can meet the accord’s  
standards.

“We are waiting for the Trade Representative’s office to go to the  
next level,” Ferrari said on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum  
event in Puerto Vallarta on April 20. “For some reason this has been  
delayed. Until everyone is in agreement, and the U.S. is missing, we  
cannot advance.”

Carol Guthrie, a spokeswoman for Kirk, said the U.S. hasn’t decided  
whether to support Mexico, Japan and Canada’s bid to join the talks  
and is going through “a detailed and thorough process” to decide if  
they’re ready to meet the “high standards and objectives” of the  
Pacific trade deal. The nine current nations must reach a consensus  
for new members to join.

Biggest Since Nafta

An accord with the eight other Pacific nations already in talks would  
be the biggest trade deal for the U.S. since President George H. W.  
Bush agreed to Nafta two decades ago. Kirk has said that the U.S., the  
world’s largest economy, wants to reach an agreement this year.

Other nations participating in the talks are Australia, Chile, Peru  
and Singapore, all of which have separate free-trade agreements with  
the U.S., as well as Malaysia, New Zealand, Vietnam and Brunei. Japan,  
Canada and Mexico said in November that they’d like to join the talks.

At the April 2 press conference with Obama, Calderon reiterated  
Mexico’s interest in joining the talks “as soon as possible,” saying  
his country “can contribute to a quick and successful conclusion of  
this project.”

Mexico, Latin America’s second-largest economy, is the largest U.S.  
trading partner after Canada and China, with $461 billion in goods  
exchanged last year, according to data from the U.S. Commerce  
Department. Mexico was the second-biggest buyer of products made in  
America, behind only Canada, and Mexico sends 80 percent of its  
exports to its northern neighbor.

Ferrari said pushing for Mexico’s inclusion will be a“very important  
topic” of his visit to the U.S. this week to meet with officials.


Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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