North American Free Trade Agreement

Former Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson tries to “dispel some myths.”

Following President Trump’s “goodwill” gesture, U.S. and Chinese trade deputies will convene in Washington, DC, later this week ahead of planned high-level talks next month.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement has bipartisan support and is likely to pass Congress this year, Democratic and Republican House lawmakers said on Thursday.

House Ways & Means Committee trade panel leaders are circulating a letter urging the Trump administration not to lower the U.S. de minimis threshold as part of a renegotiated NAFTA, contending that doing so would override congressional authority.

Negotiations on bilateral trade deals, including with Japan, will remain in a “holding pattern” until the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement is ratified, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) said this week.

“We're hoping to get this thing done within the next 30 to 60 days.”

The Mexican government is not open to U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement enforcement proposals backed by U.S. labor groups and some Democratic lawmakers who want to allow American inspectors into Mexican facilities suspected of labor violations, Mexican Under Secretary for North America Jesús Seade said on Friday.

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Martha Bárcena on Wednesday suggested that Mexico, Canada and the U.S. take preparatory steps toward establishing a dispute-settlement roster for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement ahead of U.S. ratification, recognizing some U.S. lawmakers' concerns over the deal's enforceability.

As Congress prepares to return to work next week following a lengthy recess, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has yet to submit formal, comprehensive counterproposals to the House Democrats’ U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement working group, according to a House Ways & Means Committee spokeswoman.