[CTC] AMLO & Grassley on tariff threats & NAFTA

Fri May 31 07:34:17 PDT 2019

Two articles below…

Mexican president: Trump’s tariffs won’t stop USMCA

By Sabrina Rodriguez, Politico Pro
05/31/2019

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday Mexico will continue to push to ratify the new North American trade pact despite President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico to press for further crackdown on illegal immigration.

“This does not stop the process that was already started to ratify the deal. We’re going to continue,” López Obrador said in his daily morning news conference.

“It’s the executive’s opinion that we continue the ratification process of the deal, that we meet the commitments we made and we end up approving it soon,” López Obrador added.

On Thursday, Mexican officials submitted the required texts to begin the process of ratifying the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in Mexico’s Senate, one day after Canada launched its respective process in its House of Commons.

The Trump administration shortly after submitted<https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration-1348503 <https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration-1348503>> a draft statement to Congress, putting the legislative body on notice that the pact could be coming soon.

But shortly after, Trump announced<https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration-1348503 <https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration-1348503>> in two tweets that he would slap a sweeping 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods until Mexico stops the flow of illegal immigration to the United States, beginning June 10. And that tariff will increase regularly by 5 percentage points until it reaches 25 percent on Oct. 1 if Mexico doesn't stem the flow of immigrants into the United States.

Trump’s decision could derail his administration’s hopes of getting the replacement deal for NAFTA passed in Congress.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had been adamant that Trump needed to lift his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico and Canada or else USMCA would be dead otherwise. And the Trump administration recently lifted those tariffs, building a lot of good will for the ratification process in Mexico and Canada.

Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley<https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51187 <https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51187>> (R-Iowa), who was integral to removing the steel and aluminum tariffs, was quick to criticize Trump’s move Thursday night as a “misuse of presidential tariff authority.”

"Following through on this threat would seriously jeopardize passage of USMCA," Grassley said.

López Obrador expressed hope that Trump will reconsider the measures. The two countries, he added, should push for more dialogue to address the influx of Central American migrants to the United States.

“Social problems are not resolved with duties and coercive measures,” López Obrador said in a letter to Trump Thursday night.

López Obrador also specified that Mexico doesn't plan on imposing retaliatory tariffs for now.

“I don’t believe in ‘an eye for an eye’ because, if we go that way, we’d all be left toothless and one-eyed,” López Obrador said.

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Grassley slams Trump tariffs on Mexico: ‘A misuse of presidential tariff authority’
By Niv Elis

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/446278-grassley-slams-trump-tariffs-on-mexico <https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/446278-grassley-slams-trump-tariffs-on-mexico>
05/30/2019

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley <https://thehill.com/people/chuck-grassley> (R-Iowa) condemned President Trump <https://thehill.com/people/donald-trump>'s new tariffs on Mexico late Thursday, calling the move a "misuse" of presidential tariff authority and cautioning the levies could derail passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

"Trade policy and border security are separate issues. This is a misuse of presidential tariff authority and counter to congressional intent," Grassley said in a statement.

The lawmaker cautioned that following through on Trump's tariff threat "would seriously jeopardize passage of USMCA," a revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

"I support nearly every one of President Trump’s immigration policies, but this is not one of them," he added.

Trump announced he would <https://thehill.com/latino/446269-trump-announces-5-percent-tariff-on-imports-from-mexico-starting-june-10> impose the tariffs to pressure Mexico to stop the flow of migrants into the U.S. via the southern border.

"On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied," he tweeted late Thursday. 

The tariff will increase by 5 percent each month until it reaches 25 percent “unless and until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory,” the president said a statement distributed by the White House.

The move could rattle financial markets at a precarious time for the president’s trade policy, as the White House pressures Congress to approve Trump’s revision of NAFTA.

Dow futures plummeted <https://thehill.com/policy/finance/446272-dow-plummets-after-trump-announces-new-mexico-tariffs> more than 200 points on Thursday evening after the president announced the new tariffs.

Grassley had previously threatened to derail <https://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/441127-grassley-to-trump-lift-tariffs-or-new-nafta-deal-is-dead> Trump's central trade achievement over continued steel and aluminum tariffs. Last week, Trump hinted that he had reached a deal to drop those tariffs <https://thehill.com/policy/finance/444287-trump-reaches-deal-to-lift-steel-aluminum-tariffs-on-mexico-canada>, paving the way for the USMCA in the Senate.

Even with Grassley's approval, Trump will face a hurdle passing the agreement in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi <https://thehill.com/people/nancy-pelosi> (D-Calif.) has insisted on labor and enforcement improvements to the deal.

Earlier Thursday, Trump formally kicked off <https://thehill.com/policy/finance/446228-white-house-to-start-clock-on-approval-for-new-nafta-reports> the approval process for the deal, setting off a timeline for its passage in Congress.

Pelosi derided the decision, meant to pressure Congress to pass the deal, saying it “indicates a lack of knowledge on the part of the administration on the policy and process to pass a trade agreement.”

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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