AFBF: Some Positive Trade News Exists

Amid all the concerns over White House trade actions, an American Farm Bureau official says there is some positive news.  AFBF trade adviser Dave Salmonsen said he’s encouraged by the U.S. Trade Representative’s plan to seek a three-year extension of Trade Promotion Authority, allowing the president to submit trade deals to Congress for up-or-down votes, without deal-killing amendments.

“That is a positive sign, the U.S. is looking to move ahead on trade, and we look forward to that.  And so that was very reassuring, that we’ll have a trade agenda in the years ahead, and can engage in bilateral and do more trade negotiations where we have the TPA procedures in place.”

And, Salmonsen said he considers TPA a good sign for NAFTA talks, expected to run past the July 1^st.  Meantime, he says it’s ‘wait-and-see’ on whether President Trump will keep his metals tariffs in place against Mexico and Canada, and just how his tariff pressure will play out in NAFTA talks.

“Putting the steel and aluminum tariffs issue into the NAFTA context, linking it with issues in NAFTA such as the dairy discussion is pressure, there’s certainly pressure on Canada to try and move ahead.  But I think, but there are still a lot of unknowns.”

Salmonsen said “perhaps” the increased pressure by the president will push the Canadian dairy issue to the back burner.  He said there was little talk about it in just-concluded Mexico City round of NAFTA talks.  The next round of discussions will take place in DC, starting in early April.

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