- Initial Round of NAFTA negotiations held in Washington D.C. on August 16-20, 2017 ;
- US delegates has NAFTA wish list of more than 100 items ;
- Canadian federal Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freedman released Canada’s list of key demands on Monday Aug. 14, 2017 for a new deal NAFTA renegotiations ;
- Canada sets out 10 goals for new deal North-American Free Trade Agreement ;
- Update on following chapters: labours standards, environmental standards, better access to agricultural markets by US’s farming producers, the current rules of origin in NAFTA for autos is 62.5 per cent, meaning the total parts and labour from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. must meet that threshold to avoid tariffs, [the U.S. may be interested in raising these levels in a bid to boost American production and whether to target Asia or Canada or Mexico competition], the Protect Canada’s supply-management system for dairy, poultry and wheat among key demands ;
- US top trade negotiators ‘’ did reveal extensive texts governing cross-border data flows and e-commerce, said Kenneth Propp, the trade policy director for BSA-The Software Alliance, a group on the U.S. trade representative’s advisory committee.’’[1]
- NAFTA countries say negotiations to continue at rapid pace ;
- US delegates proposed their wishing to achieve a new deal NAFTA by end of the year 2017. ‘’ American officials have indicated they want talks to move fast, and are hopeful a new deal can be reached well before midterm elections in 2018. Mexico also has an interest in completing talks quickly, as it faces a federal election next year.’’[2] . Otherwise, the talks could drag on for at least another year after the mid-term elections in the United States and until 2019 ;
- Canada open to finishing NAFTA renegotiations by end of the year 2017 before Christmas day. ‘’ But this timeline may be too ambitious one trade expert warns. A government source, speaking on background, tells CBC News that Canada is willing to work quickly, but will not agree to a bad deal for the sake of meeting a deadline ‘’[3] ;
- Mexico City to host next Round 2 NAFTA negotiations in September 1 to 5, 2017
Source: © Copyright 2017, CBC/Radio-Canada News August 20, 2017
APEC 2016 Leaders’ Declaration is committed to combating all forms of protectionism
ICI Radio-Canada, Publié le dimanche 20 novembre 2016
The leaders of the 21 countries of the Asia-Pacific region is committed to combating all forms of protectionism and encouraging the signatories of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) not to abandon its implementation. At the end of this annual meeting in Lima, members of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (APEC) will also avoid “devaluations for competitive purposes” (With Reuters and AFP)[4]. « We reaffirm our commitment to keep our markets open and to fight against all forms of protectionism by reaffirming our pledge against protectionism through a standstill commitment that we agree to extend until the end of 2020 and to roll back protectionist and trade-distorting measures, which weaken trade and slow down the progress and recovery of the international economy »[5].
In addition, the threat of the US withdrawal from the transpacific trade treaty – Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) announced Donald Trump during his election campaign from the first day of its mandate in the days following its official inauguration as the 45th President elected of the United States on Friday, January 20, 2017. The Presidential Decree was signed by Donald Trump on January 23, 2017 to commit the US withdrawal from the PTP, an agreement that includes Canada, signed in 2015 by twelve (12) countries in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China.
Since 2012 under the leaderships of China, “The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is currently being negotiated between 16 countries in the Asian region. It includes China, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other key trading nations such as Australia, South Korea, Japan and India. Over 50% of the world’s population lives in the negotiating countries, which account for over a quarter of global exports and almost 30% of the world’s GDP. [1] Like other trade agreements, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), these negotiations include a focus on trade liberalisation, address varying regulatory disciplines and are largely secret”[6].
[1] © Copyright 2017, By Thompson Reuters, ‘’First round of NAFTA talks wrap in Washington’’ CBC New Posted’’ Aug 20, 2017 5:14 PM ET| Last Updated: Aug 20, 2017 5:14 PM ET. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/1st-round-nafta-wraps-1.4255058#commentwrapper
[2] © Copyright 2017, By Katie Simpson, ’’Canada open to completing NAFTA talks in short order ’’, CBC News Posted: Aug 19, 2017 5:00 AM ET| Last Updated: Aug 20, 2017 3:03 PM ET. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/nafta-pace-of-negotiations-canada-us-1.4253213
[3] Op. cit., © Copyright 2017, by Katie Simpson.
[4]© Copyright 2016 La Presse Canadienne. Radio-Canada. «APEC 2016 Leaders’ Declaration is committed to combat all forms of protectionism». Publié le dimanche 20 novembre 2016. Page consultée le 6 février 2017.
[5]© Copyright 2016 Global Affairs Canada. APEC Declarations: 2016 Leaders’ Declaration at Lima in Peru on November 20, 2016. Published on December 8, 2016. Page consulted on June 2, 2017. http://www.international.gc.ca/apec/Peru-2016-Perou/2016_leaders_declaration-declaration_dirigeants_2016.aspx?lang=eng
[6]© Copyright 2017. Cecilia Olivet, Kat Moore, Natacha Cingotti, Sam Cossar-Gilbert “The Hidden Costs of RCEP and Corporate Trade Deals in Asia” 2017 © CETRI. Centre Tricontinental. All Rights Reserved. Published on January 19, 2017. Page consulted on February 6, 2017. http://www.cetri.be/The-Hidden-Costs-of-RCEP-and?lang=fr
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