U.S. wants new trade pact with Canada, Mexico passed by summer - Pence

[webfact]

U.S. wants new trade pact with Canada, Mexico passed by summer - Pence

By Steve Scherer and Roberta Rampton

 

FILE PHOTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and United States Vice President Mike Pence meet atf the National Governors Association summer meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., July 14, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

 

OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Thursday he was pushing to get the U.S. Congress to ratify the new North American trade agreement this summer after both Canada and Mexico signaled they are ready to start the approval process.

 

Pence, the Trump administration's point person for getting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) approved by Congress, played down concern about Democratic opposition to the deal after a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa.

 

The deal, which was signed late last year, is meant to replace the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It has yet to be ratified by any of the three countries.

 

Canada formally began the process on Wednesday and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday announced his government's intention to send the treaty to Mexico's Congress for ratification.

 

"Issues in Washington, D.C. can arise, but the American people should know, the people of Canada should know, that our administration is absolutely committed to driving forward, to seeing the Congress of the United States approve the USMCA this summer," Pence said after meeting with Trudeau.

 

Pence's trip is the first official visit to Canada by a senior member of the Trump administration since President Donald Trump stormed out of a G7 summit hosted by Trudeau last year and accused the prime minister of being "dishonest and weak."

 

The vice president has been traveling through U.S. states dependent on trade with Canada and Mexico to make the case for the deal, which faces a tricky path ahead of presidential and congressional elections next year.

 

Last week, Trump fought with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will control the timing of any initial vote on the trade deal, over her party's investigations of his administration. He also said Pelosi does not understand the agreement.

 

Some lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives have said the deal needs stronger enforcement provisions for new labor and environmental standards.

 

But on Thursday Pence struck an optimistic tone, emphasizing that the administration would work with rank-and-file lawmakers to advance the deal.

Pence also said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would be on Capitol Hill next week to work on implementation legislation for the treaty.

 

Just after meeting Trudeau, Pence confirmed that the White House submitted a statement of administrative action to the U.S. Congress to speed up a vote on the treaty, prompting Pelosi to say it was "not a positive step."

 

Pence then responded to Pelosi saying he thought the administrative action would facilitate discussions with lawmakers and help get the legislation implemented.

 

On his part, Trudeau said he hopes Democratic lawmakers see the improvements in the deal on labor and environmental provisions.

 

"We made sure that from multiple angles this was a better deal," Trudeau said.

 

CHINA TENSIONS

Pence and Trudeau also discussed relations with China, which is embroiled in a trade war with the United States and sparring with Canada over the arrest of a senior executive of China-based Huawei Technologies Co Ltd in Vancouver.

 

Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, the world's largest telecoms network gear maker, on a U.S. warrant in December. China subsequently arrested two Canadian men and charged them with espionage and cut off imports of key Canadian commodities.

 

The U.S. vice president thanked Canada for standing up for the rule of law when it detained Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei's founder. He also said they discussed the arrest of the two Canadians extensively, and that Trump will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about them at the G20 meeting in Japan at the end of June.

 

"We're going to continue to urge China to release the Canadian citizens even while we deal with the larger economic and structural issues," Pence said.

 

Washington has accused Huawei of being tied to China's government, and has effectively banned U.S. firms from doing business with the company for national security reasons.

 

Separately, Pence said the U.S. government and Canada should work together to hold Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accountable and expose the "malign influence" of Cuba, while Trudeau insisted that Cuba could still play a positive role in Venezuela.

 

As promised on Wednesday, Trudeau raised his concern about women's rights and "the new anti-choice laws being passed in a number of American states" with Pence, a social conservative and opponent of abortion.

 

Pence said the conversation was respectful, adding: "Friends can have differences of opinion and still be friends."

 

(Reporting by Steve Scherer and Roberta Rampton in Ottawa; Editing by Sandra Maler and Matthew Lewis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-31

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[Tug]

Let’s hope it’s a good deal for all and Donald doesent move the goal posts at the last minute 

[bristolboy]

12 minutes ago, Tug said:

Let’s hope it’s a good deal for all and Donald doesent move the goal posts at the last minute 

He kind of just did that as another article posted on Thaivisa.com shows

Trump to impose 5% tariff on Mexican imports over illegal immigration

[Tug]

4 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

He kind of just did that as another article posted on Thaivisa.com shows

Trump to impose 5% tariff on Mexican imports over illegal immigration

Just read it what about those goal posts!

[simple1]

6 hours ago, bristolboy said:

He kind of just did that as another article posted on Thaivisa.com shows

Trump to impose 5% tariff on Mexican imports over illegal immigration

Have to ask yourself whether pence was briefed prior to meeting with Trudeau, who likely will be very annoyed

[blazes]

Trudeau with his pink socks?  Ah, yes, I forgot: June is Pride Month in Canada.

[bristolboy]

1 hour ago, blazes said:

Trudeau with his pink socks?  Ah, yes, I forgot: June is Pride Month in Canada.

And the feet in those pink socks just kicked Trump's ***. Trump cancelled the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium and got nothing in return.

[Srikcir]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would be on Capitol Hill next week to work on implementation legislation for the treaty.

What treaty?

Trump has just changed the treaty.

• In a tweet, Mr Trump said that from 10 June a 5% tariff would be imposed on all goods coming from Mexico and would slowly rise "until the illegal immigration problem is remedied". https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48469408
• "America First is a fallacy" responded Mexican President Lopez-Obrador. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-mexico-president/america-first-is-a-fallacy-mexicos-president-responds-to-trump-tariff-idUSKCN1T109N

How can Congress ratify a trade treaty whose terms have been instantly and unilaterally changed by Trump?

 

If Trump wants to now change the US tariff structure of ALL goods from Mexico, he needs to restart the treaty negotiations with Mexico. And I'm sure Canada is left wondering whether Trump will honor Canada-US trade deal if some Canadian government policy or lack thereof will trigger a new trump tariff.

What's the point of negotiating trade treaties while Trump expects to have the unilateral right to disrupt them?

[Tug]

4 hours ago, simple1 said:

Have to ask yourself whether pence was briefed prior to meeting with Trudeau, who likely will be very annoyed

No I think pence is in for a lot of boot licking and groveling for not guessing his master would move the goal posts

[pegman]

Deals with the USA aren't worth the paper they are written on. Just ask the American Indians about broken treaties. 

 

http://aapf.org/broken-treaties

[blazes]

7 hours ago, bristolboy said:

And the feet in those pink socks just kicked Trump's ***. Trump cancelled the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium and got nothing in return.

 

Since America already owns much more than 50% of Canadian industry, there is not an awful lot an American president, no matter which one, can ask for.

 

And let's not forget that Canada gave Trump what he wanted by arresting the Huawei heiress last December.  She is restrained by a pretty little ankle alarm from wandering too far out of Vancouver.  That's what I call "doing Trump's dirty work" for him.

[bristolboy]

5 hours ago, blazes said:

 

Since America already owns much more than 50% of Canadian industry, there is not an awful lot an American president, no matter which one, can ask for.

 

And let's not forget that Canada gave Trump what he wanted by arresting the Huawei heiress last December.  She is restrained by a pretty little ankle alarm from wandering too far out of Vancouver.  That's what I call "doing Trump's dirty work" for him.

Not true about American ownership. And even if it were, that runs contrary to Trump's complaints about American companies investing in manufacturing abroad rather than investing in facilities in the USA and hiring US workers. Given his views, he just made business more profitable for them.

As for the Huawei thing, that was Canada just following the law. Such a concept may be foreign to Trump and his supporters. 

[blazes]

1 hour ago, bristolboy said:

Not true about American ownership. And even if it were, that runs contrary to Trump's complaints about American companies investing in manufacturing abroad rather than investing in facilities in the USA and hiring US workers. Given his views, he just made business more profitable for them.

As for the Huawei thing, that was Canada just following the law. Such a concept may be foreign to Trump and his supporters. 

 

Oh dear, here we go again....

Will figures from StatsCan serve to assuage your ravenous desire to show everyone how wrong their opinions are?

Here:

Enterprises from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Japan accounted for 79.1% of the foreign-controlled assets in Canada in 2016. US-controlled enterprises maintained the largest overall share, with 52.0% of total foreign-controlled assets, 55.4% of revenues, and 60.9% of profits.

 

As for the Huawei thing, further ignorance on display:  you can bet your last dollar that if the US had not given specific instructions to Ottawa to arrest the woman as she transited through Vancouver,  she would today not be having to kick her heels and anklet in Vancouver while the Canadian courts show how "independent" they are.

 

And, please, less of the cheap shots about "Trump and his supporters".  You know nothing about my real attitude towards Trump...

[brycspain]

Mexico will change their tune or they won't.  The USMCA won't even get a vote in America because the Dems don't want Trump to have any wins.  That is our current political environment...screw it if it's good for the country....Pelosi is more worried about the impact on the Mexican workers....go figure.

[bristolboy]

2 hours ago, brycspain said:

Mexico will change their tune or they won't.  The USMCA won't even get a vote in America because the Dems don't want Trump to have any wins.  That is our current political environment...screw it if it's good for the country....Pelosi is more worried about the impact on the Mexican workers....go figure.

Right. It's just the Democrats

GOP senators warn Trump's Mexico tariffs could blow up trade deal

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/31/trump-mexico-tariffs-trade-deal-1494055

[bristolboy]

3 hours ago, blazes said:

 

Oh dear, here we go again....

Will figures from StatsCan serve to assuage your ravenous desire to show everyone how wrong their opinions are?

Here:

Enterprises from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Japan accounted for 79.1% of the foreign-controlled assets in Canada in 2016. US-controlled enterprises maintained the largest overall share, with 52.0% of total foreign-controlled assets, 55.4% of revenues, and 60.9% of profits.

 

As for the Huawei thing, further ignorance on display:  you can bet your last dollar that if the US had not given specific instructions to Ottawa to arrest the woman as she transited through Vancouver,  she would today not be having to kick her heels and anklet in Vancouver while the Canadian courts show how "independent" they are.

 

And, please, less of the cheap shots about "Trump and his supporters".  You know nothing about my real attitude towards Trump...

It's clear that what you quoted doesn't say what you think it says. It just says America has 52 percent of foreign owned assets. It doesn't say what percentage of the Canadian economy is owned by foreign interests.

From the same page:

"Foreign majority-owned affiliates in Canada accounted for over half of total international trade in goods and commercial services (exports plus imports), and represented nearly one in eight jobs in Canada in 2013. A large proportion of this activity was controlled by US corporations."

 

So it seems highly unlikely that the US controls over half of Canadian industry.