The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a long-standing partnership between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, commenced bilateral trade negotiations with Canada more than three decades ago, resulting in the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement in 1989. By 1991, bilateral talks began with Mexico, which Canada joined. The NAFTA followed, entering into force just three years later.
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On May 18, 2017, following consultations with relevant Congressional committees, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer informed Congress that President Trump plans to commence negotiations with Canada and Mexico with respect to the NAFTA. Through these negotiations, the United States seeks to support higher-paying jobs in the United States and to grow the U.S. economy by improving U.S. opportunities to trade with Canada and Mexico.
United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently received a large amount of public comments in response to a notice in the Federal Register in search of feedback on negotiating objectives. During the hearings from June 27-29, 2017, USTR heard directly from over 140 witnesses, who provided testimony on a wide range of sectors, from agriculture to manufacturing and digital trade, and represented industries, workers, farmers and ranchers.
The auto industry is asking President Trump to hold off on withdrawal talk. The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) says it represents all American dealerships that sell or service international auto brands. Cody Lusk, AIADA president and CEO stated that there are at least 60,000 auto-related jobs in Kansas that could be affected.
Car companies that build in the U.S. credit NAFTA with leading to industry success, but they caution that these achievements could be put on the back burner if the deal undergoes significant changes.
During the recent State of the Union address, Trump did not specifically mention NAFTA; however, he did mention that, “We will work to fix bad trade deals and renegotiate new ones.”
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, said, “It’s [NAFTA] an old agreement, and he [President Trump] just wants to make changes to it so that it’s better for American workers. It’s something we’ve been working on. If we don’t get that deal, the president has talked about pulling out, but his objective is to renegotiate the deal.”
The auto industry is uniting behind a message that America is winning with NAFTA, saying it has created more American auto jobs, and has driven increased production over the last two decades. Along with job loss, auto prices will increase.
Industry leaders suggest that this mishap say could put the U.S. auto industry at a competitive disadvantage and hurt Kansas. The U.S., Mexico, and Canada will continue negotiations later this month.
Lemon law attorneys help their clients by dealing directly with the manufacturer on the clients’ behalf, working to promptly resolve the issue and get their clients back on the road. Thanks to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, attorneys can seek their fees directly from the manufacturer, meaning a client can obtain legal counsel without having to pay attorneys’ fees directly out of pocket.