Skip to main content
EVENT TRACKER
Keep track of rescheduled, canceled industry events with our COVID-affected event tracker - Powered by Snap Finance
Close
Sister Publication Links
  • Rubber & Plastics News
  • European Rubber Journal
tb-logo
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • OPINION
    • CORONAVIRUS
    • AUTO INDUSTRY
    • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
    • COMMERCIAL TIRE
    • FACTORY FIXES
    • GOVERNMENT & LAW
    • INTERNATIONAL
    • MOTOR SPORTS
    • NEW PRODUCTS
    • RETAIL TIRES
    • SERVICE ZONE
    • SEMA/AAPEX
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • TIRE MAKERS
    • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • Tire Cologne canceled; rescheduled until 2022
      New round of Paycheck Protection Program funding opens
      Vaccine may usher sense of normalcy
      Cover-up: More retailers requiring face masks to curb COVID
    • Icahn Auto trims fiscal 2020 operating loss despite 14% lower sales
      Oshkosh unit gets contract for new USPS local delivery vehicle
      Sumitomo adds treadwear-detection to 'Sensor Core' toolkit
      New Porsche 911 GT3 to feature Michelin fitment
    • Analysts see good signs in Goodyear deal
      Home Depot turns to Tweel to solve downtime issues in rental business
      Sentury's 10-year global expansion strategy will include plants in North America, Europe
      Industry experts to discuss Goodyear-Cooper transaction in free livestream
    • Michelin upgrades 2 lines of Energy-branded truck tires
      TravelCenters plans 6 TA Express sites in California in 2021
      Carlisle TyrFil broadens recycling technology options
      U.K. retreader Vaculug to promote tread rubber supplier Vipal
    • USTMA joins coalition supporting passage of Equality Act
      McMahon's Best-One increases its minimum wage to $15
      Oshkosh unit gets contract for new USPS local delivery vehicle
      Conti recalling 94,000 Conti-, General-, Barum-brand LT/SUV tires
    • Sentury's 10-year global expansion strategy will include plants in North America, Europe
      Rebound in car tire demand drives USTMA market forecast for 2021
      Michelin driving for '100% sustainable' tires by 2050
      Bridgestone celebrating 90 years as a business in 2021
    • Bridgestone World Solar Challenge canceled due to pandemic restrictions
      Pirelli, Goodyear ink sedan racing series contracts in Canada, Europe
      Goodyear extends partnership with Nürburgring race circuit
      BFG to support ATV/UTV racers in WORCS series
    • Michelin upgrades 2 lines of Energy-branded truck tires
      Falken revamps winter tire lineup with studless Eurowinter products
      Michelin launching ‘eco-responsible' performance tire for sporty EVs
      Martins Industries launches products in 3 categories
    • BTS to host three-day virtual sales conference for its dealers
      Our View: Goodyear, Cooper deal historic moment in tire history
      McMahon's Best-One increases its minimum wage to $15
      Tire Kingdom treats front-line workers at Palm Beach Gardens hospitals
    • Pennzoil offering carbon-neutral lubricants for passenger cars
      Washington dealership uses new-school solution for recruiting auto techs
      Marinucci: Customers may ignore dangerous conditions
      Automotive Lift Institute introduces Check360 inspection, label
    • SEMA scholarships and loan forgiveness now available
      WTC hosting webinar Jan. 20 on load-capacity standards
      Denver's Brian Sump named AAPEX Shop Owner of the Year
      DUB, TIS Wheels founder Myles Kovacs is SEMA Person of the Year
    • Trade groups oppose minimum wage increase proposal
      New stimulus package fixes PPP loan confusion
      Vaccine may usher sense of normalcy
      2020 Review: PPP loans give boost to small businesses
    • Sentury's 10-year global expansion strategy will include plants in North America, Europe
      Industry experts to discuss Goodyear-Cooper transaction in free livestream
      Rebound in car tire demand drives USTMA market forecast for 2021
      Michelin launching ‘eco-responsible' performance tire for sporty EVs
    • Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      7 questions to ask consumers when they need tires for a crossover SUV
      Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      Stocking Tires for Crossover SUVs
      Sponsored By AppointmentPlus
      Three Important Lessons Learned for the Tire Business During a Pandemic
      Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      7 questions to ask consumers when they need tires for a crossover SUV
  • SHOP FLOOR
    • BALANCING
    • DEMOUNTING
    • SAFETY
    • TIRE REPAIR
    • TPMS
    • TRAINING
    • VEHICLE LIFTING
    • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Video: Balancing Tire
      An introduction to wheel balancing
      Wheel weights: Balancing form with function
      Choosing the right balancing equipment
    • Video: Demounting
      An introduction to demounting, mounting and inflation
      Staying safe when demounting and mounting tires
      Demounting Equipment
    • Video: Safety
      Introduction: Creating a culture of safety
      Protecting your people with proper hygiene
      Making friends with OSHA
    • Video: Tire Repair
      An introduction to tire repair
      How to properly patch a puncture
      Tire repair: Shining a light on visual inspections
    • Video: TMPS Service
      An introduction to TPMS service
      The importance of proper relearn procedures
      Decoding sensor data for TPMS diagnosis
    • Video: Training
      Intro: Finding and training technicians
      Shop Floor: Scholarships
      Advantages of apprentice program partnerships
    • Video:Vehicle Lifting
      An introduction to lifts and lift safety
      Recommendations for using a jack
      Jack stands for commercial tire service
    • Video: Wheel Torque
      Introduction to proper wheel installation
      Torque check and recheck recommendations
      Using torque sticks to speed service times
  • Multimedia
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
    • PODCASTS
  • Events
    • ASK THE EXPERT
    • LIVESTREAMS
    • WEBINARS
    • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
  • Data
    • DATA STORE
  • Resources
    • DIRECTORY
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • ADVERTISE
  • DIGITAL EDITION
  • Awards
    • Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
November 15, 2017 01:00 AM

Private sector plays for overtime on NAFTA

Eric Kulisch, Automotive News
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Automotive News photo
    NAFTA Talks panelists, from left, Flavio Volpe, Kellie Meiman and Emilio Cadena with Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein

    DETROIT — Supporters of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) see time as their best friend.

    Trump administration officials originally intended to rewrite the 23-year-old agreement with Mexico and Canada in a mere five months. The business community also was in favor of a quick negotiation that would focus on achievable aims and not devolve into political theater.

    But the schedule already has been pushed back as negotiations bog down over contentious U.S. proposals on issues such as rules of origin.

    Now, as fears increase that President Trump may fulfill his threat to pull out of NAFTA, the business community is looking to prolong the process even more, like a losing football team scrambling to kick its way into overtime.

    "We need to buy ourselves more time," Kellie Meiman, a managing partner at government affairs consultancy McLarty Associates in Washington, told representatives of auto suppliers at a recent Automotive News forum.

    "We need to build up that fact-based public support for the agreement."

    Ms. Meiman, a former U.S. trade negotiator, expressed hope that Canada and Mexico would offer counterproposals during the coming round of talks, even if they are pro forma, just to keep the process from derailing.

    Giving up

    Business interests have mostly given up trying to convince Trump administration officials about the need to preserve NAFTA, with some modest fixes and updates. The last round of negotiations outside Washington ended in acrimony Oct. 13 over hard-line U.S. proposals and accusations from Canadian and Mexican officials that the U.S. was pushing an America-first agenda.

    Some analysts saw the proposals as an attempt to force Mexico and Canada from the table, giving Mr. Trump the pretext to withdraw from NAFTA.

    U.S. negotiators had set a late December deadline for finishing talks to avoid clashing with the 2018 Mexican presidential campaign and U.S. midterm congressional elections, when making compromises could be difficult.

    The White House also is looking for a win it can trumpet to its political base. But amid negotiating conflicts, the official start of the next round in Mexico City was pushed back to Nov. 17, and subsequent rounds will extend into the first quarter of next year.

    That is good news, industry representatives following the talks say, because it gives them more time to forge pro-NAFTA coalitions.

    Duncan Wood, director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, said in an interview that the best outcome would be for all sides to postpone further talks until after the elections. Even if the U.S. reached an agreement by early 2018, getting it through Congress would be complicated in an election season, he said.

    A delay is "actually a good option," he said, "because we don't have to change anything then, and we wait until a new election cycle begins, and hopefully it's beyond 2020."

    Yet Mr. Wood doubts that Mr. Trump will be so patient.

    "[Mr.] Trump has said over and over again that NAFTA is the worst trade deal ever signed by the U.S.," he said, "so if he doesn't take this opportunity to terminate, then he's going to look weak."

    'A big fight'

    Any decision to exit NAFTA would be followed by a six-month waiting period, which Meiman said would be used by stakeholders to get talks back on track or build obstacles to terminating its provisions.

    "If withdrawal is triggered, there is going to be a big fight," Ms. Meiman said. "Already people are planning for what path can be taken if the administration decides to withdraw."

    NAFTA defenders in the private sector see Congress as their best line of defense, given that NAFTA's provisions touch varied constituencies, from heavy manufacturing to technology to agriculture.

    Congress has constitutionally granted authority over foreign trade, though it ceded some powers to the executive branch under the 1974 Trade Act.

    Lawyers are split on whether the president would need congressional approval to quit NAFTA, though many believe only Congress has the power to unwind U.S. laws passed to implement the pact.

    Ms. Meiman said it's unlikely Congress would modify the Trade Act to take back withdrawal authority from the executive branch because it would require a veto-proof majority, but business groups are studying the possibility of inserting language in the law that would require a study by the International Trade Commission or consultation with Congress "as a check that would buy us more time to get better organized and also put some new data on the table."

    Stakeholders also are considering mounting a constitutional challenge asserting Congress' ultimate authority over trade, Meiman said.

    With Congress focused on tax reform, stalling the process will give the pro-NAFTA side more political space to have substantive debates and win public support for reasonable reforms to the deal, she said.

    "This political moment is so challenging," Ms. Meiman said. "We need time for all the private sector to get better organized and aligned."

    Laurence Iliff, Automotive News, contributed to this report.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Newsletter Center

    Staying current is easy with Tire Business delivered straight to your inbox.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Subscribe to Tire Business

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Tire Business is an award-winning publication dedicated to providing the latest news, data and insights into the tire and automotive service industries.

    tb-logo
    Reader Services
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Site Map
    • Industry Sites
    • Order Reprints
    • Customer Service: 877-320-1716
    Partner Sites
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Automotive News
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Media Guide
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Classified Rates
    • Digital Edition
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • OPINION
      • CORONAVIRUS
      • AUTO INDUSTRY
      • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
      • COMMERCIAL TIRE
      • FACTORY FIXES
      • GOVERNMENT & LAW
      • INTERNATIONAL
      • MOTOR SPORTS
      • NEW PRODUCTS
      • RETAIL TIRES
      • SERVICE ZONE
      • SEMA/AAPEX
      • SMALL BUSINESS
      • TIRE MAKERS
      • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • SHOP FLOOR
      • BALANCING
      • DEMOUNTING
      • SAFETY
      • TIRE REPAIR
      • TPMS
      • TRAINING
      • VEHICLE LIFTING
      • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Multimedia
      • VIDEOS
      • PHOTOS
      • PODCASTS
    • Events
      • ASK THE EXPERT
      • LIVESTREAMS
      • WEBINARS
      • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
    • Data
      • DATA STORE
    • Resources
      • DIRECTORY
      • CLASSIFIEDS
    • ADVERTISE
    • DIGITAL EDITION
    • Awards
      • Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award