U.S. ‘very close’ to Mexico-only deal
Trump trying to use this possibility as leverage in Canada-NAFTA talks
WASHINGTON— U.S. President Donald Trump is “getting very, very close” to moving on with a trade agreement that includes Mexico but not Canada, one of his economic advisers warned on Friday. The comments from Kevin Hassett were the latest in a series of attempts by Trump and his allies to pressure Canada in- to quick concessions. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has shrugged off such warnings, saying it will not be forced into accepting a bad deal.
Hassett, chairman of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, said on Fox News that the U.S. is fast approaching “the deadline where we’re going to have to move ahead with Mexico all by themselves.”
“I’m a little surprised that the Canadians haven’t signed up yet. They’ve got a really, really good deal that they should be participating in,” Hassett said. “I worry that politics in Canada is trumping common sense, because there’s a very good deal that was designed by Mexico and the U.S. to appeal to Canada. And they’re not signing up, and it’s got everybody over here a little bit puzzled.”
Trump’s team has set multiple so-called deadlines that have come and gone without apparent consequences.
This deadline may be at least slightly more substantial than some of the others: by the beginning of October, the Trump administration could submit to Congress the official text of a trade agreement with Mexico alone. Trump is trying to use this possibility as leverage in the ongoing talks with Canada.
But it is possible that the administration could strike a deal with Canada at some point after submitting the U.S.-Mexico text to Congress, then add Canada to the text at that later date.
There does not appear to be a precedent for the late addition of a third country into a text initially submitted with two countries. But congresspeople of both parties strongly prefer a deal that includes Canada, and some observers believe Congress is more likely to bend to accommodate Canada than to take a hard line on the rules and approve a Mexico-only agreement.
“Never underestimate Congress’s ability to avoid making a decision if they don’t have to,” said Dan Ujczo, an Ohio-based trade lawyer with Dickinson Wright. He added: “This is a political decision, not a procedural decision.”
Trudeau and his officials have said that they are holding out for a deal that includes the Chapter 19 dispute resolution system the U.S. wants to eliminate.