FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Canada and Mexico Draw More Lines Against U.S. Trade, as Trump Eyes ‘Different Approach’
June 5, 2018 (EIRNS)—Larry Kudlow, the economic adviser to President Donald Trump, said today that the U.S. seeks to negotiate separately with Canada and Mexico on trade questions. Speaking on Fox News this morning, Kudlow said that the President told him yesterday that he is interested in having this happen very soon.
In the last few days, Mexico and Canada have drawn new lines against trade with the U.S., in retaliation for the U.S. announcement last week that the Trump Administration will impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico. This also comes after nine rounds of NAFTA re-negotiation went nowhere.
The North America free trade bloc, NAFTA, is bound to be in a mess, since the cross-border supply or “value” chains were fostered to serve Wall Street/City of London interests in rake-off, debt and speculation, not the common good of the three nations involved.
Trump has called the question on NAFTA, meaning on the economy of the nations of North America, but with no policy team in action for any solution. The content of the LaRouche Four Laws is exactly what is urgently required.
Canada has announced a list of U.S. trade goods worth $16 billion—the same amount as the U.S. metals trade—on which they will put tariffs as of July 1. These include such things as orange juice, paper products, dishwasher soap, domestic appliances, yogurt.
Mexico has announced many actions, e.g., tariffs of 20% on certain pork products, while those same foods imported from outside the U.S. will be duty free. Mexico intends to file an action in the World Trade Organization against the U.S., over its newly hiked steel and aluminum import tariffs.
Kudlow said that Trump “will try a different approach” than the NAFTA trilateral talks. He went on: “I can’t offer timing here, but judging from what he told us yesterday, I think he would like to start that approach rather quickly actually.”
