On July 17, 2017, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published, on its electronic portal, the objectives that the Administration of President Donald Trump intends to achieve in the process of modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The administration of President Donald Trump notified Congress on May 18 of its intention to modernize NAFTA with Mexico and Canada, a process that opened a 90-day consultation period that ends on August 16, date from which it could renegotiate the trilateral agreement.

Among the objectives are:

 

• Ensure that NAFTA countries avoid manipulating the exchange rate in order to prevent effective adjustments in the balance of payments or to gain unfair advantages.

 

• Increase opportunities for US companies to sell products and services to the governments of the NAFTA region.

 

• Adopt transparent, predictable and non-discriminatory rules to regulate government purchases in NAFTA countries.

 

• Improve the US trade balance and reduce the trade deficit with the NAFTA countries.

 

• Maintain existing duty-free access for US textile and apparel goods to NAFTA parties; as well as seeking to improve market opportunities for US textile and clothing goods, taking into account import sensitivities.

 

• Seek to eliminate non-tariff barriers for US agricultural exports, including discriminatory barriers, restrictive administration of quota tariffs; as well as other unjustifiable measures that limit access to US products, such as: cross-subsidies, price discrimination.

 

• Ensure, to the extent possible, that shipments are released immediately after compliance with applicable laws and regulations and adopt new disciplines for timely release of goods, automation, and use of guarantees.

 

• Grant simplified and expedited customs treatment to express parcel shipments, including those that are above the de minimis threshold. Provide a de minimis value comparable to US shipments of $ 800.

 

• Update and strengthen the rules of origin to ensure that the benefits of the Agreement are granted to goods genuinely produced in the region.

 

• Promote cooperation between NAFTA countries to ensure that goods that comply with the rules of origin receive benefits under the Agreement, preventing tariff evasion and combating customs violations.

 

• Create an active committee for the chapter on technical barriers to trade in order to discuss bilateral and third-party trade concerns; multilateral and regional activities; regulatory cooperation; and implementation of best regulatory practices.

 

• Assure US investors rights consistent with the principles of the US legal framework; as well as ensuring that investors from NAFTA countries in the American Union do not receive substantive rights superior to those enjoyed by domestic investors.

 

The negotiation of the treaty could begin as of August 16, since with this publication the Administration of President Trump complies with one of the requirements established in the “Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015” better known as TPA 2015 that establishes the obligation to publish, at least 30 days before the start of the negotiation.

 

SOURCE:https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Releases/NAFTAObjectives.pdf