Negotiating objectives for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will be published by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) July 17.Under provisions of the 2015 trade promotion authority (TPA), USTR is to publish its objectives for the trade negotiations 30 days prior to their start. That tentatively could take place August 17.USTR released an eight-page draft letter in March that outlined broad objectives for the negotiations, but has been meeting with lawmakers and taking public feedback on the coming negotiations in the interim.The March draft letter outlined areas where the administration would focus on for the negotiations, and that letter changed versus the version that was sent to Congress to officially notify them of the intent to renegotiate the 23-year-old trade deal.The administration moderated its tone on NAFTA in the notice sent to Congress compared to the draft letter circulated in March, mostly taking out some of the harsher rhetoric and appearing to give U.S. negotiators a little more flexibility as the talks progress. Most observers think the letter formally notifying Congress of the intent to negotiate NAFTA reflected the involvement of USTR Robert Lighthizer who has sounded less strident on trade issues than other officials speaking on trade matters before Lighthizer was in place at USTR.Trump Repeats Vow to Pull Out of NAFTA Barring "Full" Renegotiation
The U.S. will pull out of NAFTA if there is not a "total renegotiation" of the trade deal with Mexico and Canada, President Donald Trump said in his weekly presidential address. Reiterating a view expressed by candidate Trump, he pledged he will "not allow other nations to take advantage of us any longer."That stance is why the U.S. is pushing for a total renegotiation of the pact, he noted. "And if we don't get it, we will terminate — that is, end NAFTA forever," Trump said.
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