Mexico

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday submitted to Capitol Hill changes to existing laws he says will be needed to bring the U.S. into compliance with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

“The 232s are doing nothing but allowing others to gain market share in the U.S.”

In a letter to Ross and Lighthizer, the associations say they “wish to underscore the importance of lifting tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and the removal of all retaliatory tariffs on trade among the parties.”

“Subjecting shipments from Canada and Mexico to a reciprocal threshold would place administrative and cost burdens on small businesses, increase complexity for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and start a global race to lower thresholds – undermining U.S. e-commerce leadership.”

Incoming Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said on Wednesday that if Democrats insist on re-opening trade talks with Canada and Mexico, the president should “pull out” of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

A coalition of business groups focused on getting the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement through Congress is slated to be launched in the coming weeks, Inside U.S. Trade has learned.

The Mexican Congress failed to meet a Jan. 1 deadline to pass legislation to establish labor reforms called for in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, with a bill introduced last month in the Chamber of Deputies unlikely to be addressed until February.

The Trump administration will have its hands full in 2019, with new talks slated to begin with Brussels, Tokyo, London and potentially more, as well as the implementation of a revised deal with South Korea. The fate of the U.S.-Mexico -Canada Agreement will also be determined next year by a new Congress.

“I mean, really? Really?”