President-elect Donald Trump has selected trade lawyer Jamieson Greer to serve as the next U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Greer previously served as chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s USTR during his first term. He will hold one of the most influential cabinet seats when it comes to the future of North American agriculture, alongside… Read More
Tag: Robert Lighthizer
The decisive comeback victory by Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election has kicked off the political parlour game of speculating who the president-elect might choose to serve in key cabinet roles. It appears the Trump team is much more organized than it was in 2016 and ready to hit the ground running with appointments… Read More
“Trump won’t actually put tariffs on us, will he?” That’s a common question across Canadian agriculture as the dust settles on a decisive Republican victory in the U.S. presidential election. During the campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly talked about applying universal tariffs in the 10 to 20 per cent range, with the possibility of somewhat higher… Read More
Fresh off of the signing of the Phase One trade deal three weeks ago between the U.S, and China, concern is rising on whether the coronavirus outbreak in China will impact the country’s ability to meet its purchase commitments. Earlier this week, reports that China will seek “flexibility” from the U.S. on the deal were… Read More
The first phase of a trade deal between China and the U.S. has been agreed upon by both parties. United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer says U.S. President Donald Trump has “focused on concluding a Phase One agreement that achieves meaningful, fully-enforceable structural changes and begins rebalancing the U.S.-China trade relationship.” As part of… Read More
An intense round of talks between Canada and the U.S. to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came to an end Friday afternoon without an agreement, but with both sides reporting progress and planning to resume negotiations on Wednesday. “We are continuing to work hard, and we are making progress. We’re not there… Read More
Last week we heard House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) lay down a Congressional schedule deadline for a NAFTA 2.0 deal of May 17th. The negotiators did not meet the deadline and in fact, it was ignored like it never existed. Each country is spinning their version of what is left to do to complete this… Read More
We are at a point in the NAFTA renegotiations where it is easy to be negative. Some insiders and experts believe it is only a matter of time before President Trump withdraws from the agreement. Whether that is to get to a bilateral deal or a better multi-lateral is still up for debate, but the… Read More
As round four of the NAFTA talks comes to a close, you have to wonder why it took the U.S. this long to finally come around to the stiff demands laid out in round four. From auto to dairy, the U.S. provided a list of demands that Canada and Mexico have described as unacceptable, and,… Read More
Negotiators are trying to ignore the politics and noise surrounding their attempt to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, but the big decisions will ultimately be made in the political realm. And that means what happens on the ground in the negotiating room has to be within the range of what political leaders, including… Read More