Canada

NEW YORK -- White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Wednesday said the chances of getting the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement passed this year were “dwindling” due in large part to the ongoing impeachment inquiry initiated by House Democrats.

House Democrats and the Trump administration are nearing the final stages of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations, revising proposals “line by line” and eyeing only “a few more meetings” to finish their work, key lawmakers said on Wednesday after a discussion with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says he is concerned “for the first time” about the ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with members of the House Democrat working group in charge of ironing out differences in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement this week, with two key lawmakers saying the sides had made significant progress.

“Doing so is essential to promoting certainty and growth for manufacturing businesses, workers and families across the United States – each of whom relies on trade with our North American partners to prosper and grow.”

House Democrats and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are pushing to wrap up negotiations on outstanding U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement issues by the end of October, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade.

“This is the hunt for USMCA October.”

CoBank notes in its quarterly economic review that trade tensions “continue to mount as global economic growth slows.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is floating a digital services tax similar to a French tax that led the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to launch a Section 301 investigation earlier this year.