TPP Addressed Possible NAFTA Changes

Trump TPP and NAFTA

One U.S. Representative says addressing trade issues between Canada, Mexico and the United States was included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. President Donald Trump wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and he has already withdrawn the U.S. from TPP, a trade deal Wisconsin Democrat Ron Kind says did address U.S., Canada and Mexico specifics.

“Stopping the sanitary and phytosanitary games that Canada was playing, lowering some of their trade barriers to our products, was negotiated in TPP the same as it applied to Mexico,” he said. “So when Donald Trump is talking about renegotiating NAFTA, I immediately think a lot of that was already being done under the TPP, which they had already agreed to. So I’m not clear what he wants to try to accomplish. I’m not sure he’s clear on what renegotiation means to him. I’m willing to work closely with the administration to make sure it’s working for our farmers.”

Kind says Mexico is an important market for U.S. agriculture and he hopes the President doesn’t start a trade fight with the southern neighbor.

“We export a lot of our agriculture products into the Mexican market, and that could suddenly be closed to us. And if you think prices are bad now for our commodities, it would tank if that were to occur.”

Despite his concerns, Kind says renegotiating NAFTA could improve the trade agreement for the United States.

“I’m all for renegotiating some of the past trade agreement that we’ve had with them to get better worker protections for instance, better environmental standards, human rights standards, again to level the playing field for us.”

But Kind says the U.S. could be damaged if all the Trump administration talks about it is “building walls and starting a trade war.”

Source: NAFB News Service

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