[CTC] Lighthizer: NAFTA countries 'nowhere near close’ to a deal

[Arthur Stamoulis]

INSIDE US TRADE

Daily News

Lighthizer: NAFTA countries 'nowhere near close’ to a deal

May 17, 2018

The three NAFTA countries are still far from a deal, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Thursday, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a broad agreement on auto rules of origin had been reached and suggested talks were in the final phase.

“The NAFTA countries are nowhere near close to a deal,” Lighthizer said in a statement listing a slew of areas in which the countries remained far apart.

“As I said last week, there are gaping differences on intellectual property, agricultural market access, de minimis levels, energy, labor, rules of origin, geographical indications, and much more,” he continued.

“We of course will continue to engage in negotiations, and I look forward to working with my counterparts to secure the best possible deal for American farmers, ranchers, workers, and businesses,” Lighthizer added.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland arrived in Washington, DC, on Thursday to meet with stakeholders on NAFTA, and senior Canadian officials held talks with USTR on NAFTA Thursday as well, according to a Canadian official.

Earlier Thursday, Trudeau said <https://insidetrade.com/node/163060> the talks were “right down to sort of the last conversations, and we know that those last conversations in any deal are very important so we’re positive about this.”

“But it won’t be done until it’s done and people are working very very hard on it right now,” he added.

Trudeau said divisions remain on dispute settlement as well as a sunset provision pushed by Lighthizer that would automatically terminate the deal after five years unless the three countries agreed to renew it.

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday backed down <https://insidetrade.com/node/163056> from a hard May 17 deadline for the administration to submit a notice that it intends to sign a final NAFTA deal within 90 days, which would have kicked off procedures under the Trade Promotion Authority law necessary to give the current Congress a chance to vote on a new NAFTA deal.

Ryan said the wiggle room negotiators have to strike a deal after May 17 would depend on how quickly the U.S. International Trade Commission could complete its analysis of a final deal. TPA gives the ITC up to 105 days to do so, and that analysis can begin only after the final text has been submitted and the deal has been signed.

Mexico has downplayed Ryan’s concerns about getting a revamped NAFTA before this Congress, but its July 1 presidential and legislative elections have long been described as a crucial time constraint. -- Jack Caporal ( <mailto:jcaporal at iwpnews.com>jcaporal at iwpnews.com <mailto:jcaporal at iwpnews.com>)
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