{"id":44871,"date":"2017-09-27T06:11:24","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T06:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=44871"},"modified":"2017-09-27T06:11:24","modified_gmt":"2017-09-27T06:11:24","slug":"top-nafta-negotiators-join-talks-u-s-presents-draft-text-labor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/business\/top-nafta-negotiators-join-talks-u-s-presents-draft-text-labor.html","title":{"rendered":"Top NAFTA negotiators join talks as U.S. presents draft text on labor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Top NAFTA negotiators join talks as U.S. presents draft text on labor<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Top NAFTA negotiators join talks as U.S. presents draft text on labor: The United States on Tuesday unveiled draft text on labor standards during the negotiations on modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement as top officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico joined talks in Ottawa.<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. said the labor proposal would ensure enforceable mechanisms to raise labor standards in the NAFTA but Canadian labor unions said it was inadequate.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexico\u2019s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo joined the talks on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The countries are rushing to reach an agreement by the end of the year before Mexico\u2019s presidential campaign begins, a deadline that former trade negotiators have said is unrealistic.<\/span><\/p>\n

The labor proposal is the latest of three new draft texts presented by the U.S. in Ottawa. U.S. proposals on investment and intellectual property were also presented in this round after U.S. negotiator John Melle said \u201cmore challenging issues will start taking center stage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Labor leaders of the two wealthier NAFTA nations say laxer labor standards and lower pay in Mexico have swelled corporate profits at the expense of Canadian and U.S. workers, making the issue one of the major battlegrounds of the NAFTA talks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials with knowledge of the U.S. proposal said it did not detail wage levels for workers. Mexican business leaders have argued that workers\u2019 rights and pay is an internal issue for each country to resolve.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith President Trump as one of labor\u2019s biggest supporters, the United States has put forward a detailed proposal that replaces the original NAFTA\u2019s toothless approach on labor with enforceable provisions to benefit workers across America,\u201d USTR spokeswoman Emily Davis said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States\u2019 advocacy for workers includes seeking commitments from Mexico and Canada to respect collective bargaining and other core labor standards,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Canadian labor union leaders said the U.S. proposal resembled text outlined in the Trans Pacific Partnership trade pact with many Asian nations which Trump withdrew the U.S. from.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. proposal makes no sense to me,\u201d Jerry Dias, president of Canada\u2019s UNIFOR labor union, told reporters. \u201cThe American proposal is the TPP proposal with a bit of a twist, which isn\u2019t going to resolve the issues\u201d of better working conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teamsters Canada spokesman Christopher Monette said the Canadian proposal on labor went further in pushing for improved working conditions in all three NAFTA countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is inadequate,\u201d Monette said of the US draft text.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. Congressman Sandy Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, who was in Ottawa at the weekend, cautioned on Monday that the Democratic party would not support a revised NAFTA agreement without \u201cdramatic change\u201d in Mexico\u2019s labor standards.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMexico\u2019s so called \u2018comparative advantage\u2019 not only condemns numerous Mexican workers to working in or near poverty, but it lowers wages and rips away jobs from workers in the United States, especially in the auto industry,\u201d he told the Council on Foreign Relations.<\/span><\/p>\n

USTR\u2019s Davis said the negotiations were \u201cprogressing at an unprecedented pace\u201d with the U.S. presenting text in 27 NAFTA chapters in the five weeks since talks began.<\/span><\/p>\n

Canadian and Mexican officials, however, have complained that the U.S. side has been slow to present proposals on the biggest issues which are likely to take time to negotiate.<\/span><\/p>\n

A joint statement on the Ottawa round is expected at 2:30 p.m. New York time (1830 GMT) on Wednesday. The next round of talks will be held in Washington around Oct. 11.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked by reporters in Ottawa about the lack of specific proposals on key issues, chief U.S. negotiator John Melle, \u201cWe\u2019ve been working very hard so I don\u2019t see a problem.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The thorniest issue in the talks, NAFTA\u2019s rules of origin that determine how much of a product needs to originate in the NAFTA region, was discussed on Tuesday, according to a copy of the agenda obtained by Reuters, but the United States has still to present its demands on the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trump administration wants more substantial U.S. content in autos, the main source of the $64-billion trade deficit with Mexico and the $11-billion deficit with Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States draft text on NAFTA investment did not elaborate on changes to the dispute mechanism that allows an investor from a NAFTA country to sue a member government, according to two sources with knowledge of discussions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-trade-nafta\/top-nafta-negotiators-join-talks-as-u-s-presents-draft-text-on-labor-idUSKCN1C11S8<\/span><\/p>\n

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