[CTC] Grassley, after White House meeting, predicts 'an agreement on NAFTA by July'

[Arthur Stamoulis]

INSIDE US TRADE

Grassley, after White House meeting, predicts 'an agreement on NAFTA by July'
June 07, 2018
 
The Trump administration will secure an agreement on NAFTA by July, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said on Thursday.
 
Grassley and other Republican senators attended a White House meeting on trade on Wednesday. Asked how he felt following that discussion, Grassley told reporters he was “very confident that the president is going to get an agreement pretty soon.”
 
Pressed on whether he meant NAFTA, Grassley added, “You’re going to get an agreement on NAFTA by July.”
 
Grassley chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and is a member of the Finance and Agriculture committees.
 
The White House could not be immediately reached for comment on Grassley's prediction.
 
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who also attended the meeting with Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, told Inside U.S. Trade on Thursday that he “got the impression that they wanted to make sure they have the deal shortly after the elections.”
 
“They were talking about moving ahead quickly,” Barrasso said. “They were talking about the fact that there are elections, specifically in Mexico coming up, and they talked about the time frame with that.”
 
Mexico holds its presidential election on July 1.
 
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who also attended the White House meeting, was not as sanguine.
 
Asked about whether a new NAFTA deal would be struck this year, Johnson told Inside U.S. Trade, “I hope so. And again, the sooner the better; that’s certainly what I conveyed to the president as well.”
 
Johnson also said there is a “real possibility” that the U.S. will pursue separate bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico, an idea the Trump administration has said it is considering again. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday <https://insidetrade.com/node/163272> that the president had instructed him to announced a preference for separate deals.
 
“They’re certainly talking to them differently,” Johnson said on Thursday. “[Trump] made a good case for bilateral agreements.” -- Anshu Siripurapu (anshus at iwpnews.com <mailto:anshus at iwpnews.com>) with Jack Caporal (jcaporal at iwpnews.com <mailto:jcaporal at iwpnews.com>)
 
Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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