Trump threatens more tariffs on US trading partners

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Tuesday that "Tariffs are the greatest!" and threatened to impose additional penalties on U.S. trading partners as he prepared for negotiations with European officials at the White House.

Trump tweeted from the White House that U.S. trade partners need to either negotiate a "fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It's as simple as that."

The president has engaged in hardline trading negotiations with China, Canada and European nations, seeking to renegotiate trade agreements he says have undermined the nation's manufacturing base and led to a wave of job losses in recent decades. The imposition of punishing tariffs on imported goods has been a favored tactic by Trump, but it has prompted U.S. trading partners to retaliate, creating risks for the economy.

Trump has placed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, saying they pose a threat to U.S. national security, an argument that allies such as the European Union and Canada reject. He has also threatened to slap tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totaled $335 billion.

And the president has already put tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports in a separate dispute over Beijing's high-tech industrial policies. Trump has threatened to ratchet that up to more than $500 billion, a move that has left financial markets uneasy. Beijing's retaliatory tariffs have hit American soybeans and pork.

Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday that the U.S. is a "'piggy bank' that's being robbed." He noted that countries "that have treated us unfairly on trade for years" are coming to Washington to negotiate.

The president is meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday. The U.S. and European allies have been at odds over the president's tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the trade dispute threatens to spread to automobile production. </s> Since Donald Trump took off on his tariff bender, slapping levies on countries around the world just to prove that America isn’t gonna be pushed around anymore, things have gone extremely poorly . . . for America. Soybean farmers have taken a 20 percent hit to their income thanks to China targeting them in counterattacks; Harley-Davidson has cut its profit-margin forecast as a result of the European Union’s retaliatory measures on its motorcycles; companies caught up in the blowback from steel tariffs are laying off workers left and right and could go out of business by Labor Day; investors are freaking out; Fed Chair Jerome Powell has warned that trade wars on multiple fronts could damage the economy; and Beijing has signaled it’s prepared to fight to the death, which it might have to after President Very Stable Genius threatened to slap tariffs on every single one of its imports. And yet, as usual, all this appears to be lost on Trump.

On Tuesday morning, he tweeted that tariffs are “the greatest” and a “simple” economic measure: “Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. . . . Remember, we are the ‘piggy bank’ that’s being robbed.” Not only is he choosing to ignore the monumental costs of his trade wars, but he seems blissfully unaware of just who is paying for them—in an interview with CNBC last week, he told Joe Kernen that he has the flexibility to go tit-for-tat with China and other countries because the only thing at risk is stock-market gains, and the post-election rally allows him to fire away to his heart’s content. “This is the time,” Trump said. “You know the expression ‘we’re playing with the bank’s money.’” (Setting aside the fact that U.S. companies, consumers, and workers have so far borne the brunt of the tariffs, it’s not even clear that the president is aware that the market’s gains have slowed this year in part as a direct result of his “trade policies.”)

That the president doesn’t understand who is being punished for his asinine policies is worrisome not just from the perspective of Jesus Christ will someone get this guy in for a brain scan, but because as his offense ramps up, things will only get worse. As Trump considers cranking up the crazy and slapping a 25 percent tariff on foreign cars—a move that U.S. automakers, parts suppliers, and dealers have warned would be devastating—Canada has suggested it’ll have no choice but to hit back just as hard. “I say that with a heavy heart because it’s of no benefit to anybody, but how do you get a bully to back off when their foot is on your neck? Do you plead with them or do you bite the foot?” Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, told Bloomberg. “Not responding is not an option.” (Memo to Trump: when the good-natured folks up in Canada are talking about biting your foot off, you might want to rethink your strategy.)

Perhaps as a sign that someone in the White House knows it’s not just the stock market that’s taking a hit, on Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that the administration is planning “to extend about $12 billion in emergency aid to farmers caught in President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war, according to two people briefed on the matter.” That’ll likely provide some much-needed short-term relief, but it also suggests the president has no plan to back down anytime soon. </s> WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump flew to Florida on Thursday to hold his first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, facing pressure to deliver trade concessions for some of his most fervent supporters and prevent a crisis with North Korea from spiraling out of control.

The leaders of the world's two biggest economies are to greet each other at the president's Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, late in the afternoon and dine together with their wives, kicking off a summit that will conclude with a working lunch on Friday.

White House officials have set low expectations for the meeting, saying it will set the foundation for future dealings.

Trump promised during the 2016 campaign to stop what he called the theft of American jobs by China and rebuild the country's manufacturing base. Many blue-collar workers helped propel him to his unexpected election victory on Nov. 8 and Trump wants to deliver for them.

The Republican president tweeted last week that the United States could no longer tolerate massive trade deficits and job losses and that his meeting with Xi "will be a very difficult one."

Trump, a former real estate magnate, is still finding his footing in the White House and has yet to spell out a strategy for what his advisers called a trade relationship based on "the principal of reciprocity."

"I don´t expect a grand bargain on trade. I think what you are going to see is that the president makes very clear to Xi and publicly what we expect on trade," a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. labor leaders say Trump needs to take a direct, unambiguous tone in his talks with Xi.

"President Trump needs to come away from the meeting with concrete deliverables that will restore production and employment here in the U.S. in those sectors that have been ravaged by China's predatory and protectionist practices," said Holly Hart, legislative director for the United Steelworkers union.

The U.S. official told Reuters that Washington expects to have to prepare its own actions to fight for U.S. companies, such as pursuing World Trade Organization lawsuits.

"We have the legal tools and a lot of authorities that have not been exercised in the past to fight back and you now have the political will, from the president on down, to do that," the official said.

The summit will bring together two leaders who could not seem more different: the often stormy Trump, prone to angry tweets, and Xi, outwardly calm, measured and tightly scripted, with no known social media presence.

What worries the protocol-conscious Chinese more than policy clashes is the risk that the unpredictable Trump could publicly embarrass Xi, after several foreign leaders experienced awkward moments with the new U.S. president.

"Ensuring President Xi does not lose face is a top priority for China," a Chinese official said.

The most urgent problem facing Trump and Xi is how to persuade nuclear-armed North Korea to halt unpredictable behavior like missile test launches that have heightened tensions in South Korea and Japan.

North Korea is working to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.

The White House has said North Korea was a test for the U.S.-China relationship, and Trump has threatened to use trade to try to force China to exert influence over Pyongyang.

Beijing says its influence is limited and that it is doing all it can but that it is up to the United States to find a way back to talks with North Korea.

Trump consulted on Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who said he and the president agreed by phone that North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch was "a dangerous provocation and a serious threat."

A White House strategy review is focusing on options for pressuring Pyongyang economically and militarily. Among measures under consideration are "secondary sanctions" against Chinese banks and firms that do the most business with Pyongyang.

"We have not in any way put the kind of sanctions on North Korea that we have the ability to do," the U.S. administration official said.

"I think there is an understanding here that if you put those types of sanctions on North Korea then the military option is not really necessary," the official said.

A long-standing option of pre-emptive strikes remains on the table, but despite the tougher recent U.S. talk, the internal review "de-emphasizes direct military action," the U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Analysts believe any military action would likely provoke severe North Korean retaliation and massive casualties in South Korea and Japan and among U.S. troops stationed there. (Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Gui Qing Koh in New York, Ben Blanchard in Beijing and William Mallard in Tokyo; Editing by Caren Bohan, Peter Cooney and Lisa Shumaker) </s> WASHINGTON — President Trump told global leaders gathered at the Group of Seven summit in Quebec that they must reduce trade barriers and floated the idea of lowering tariffs completely if other countries agreed to a more pure form of open trade.

Trump threatened to stop trading with other nations if they decline to lower barriers he has repeatedly described as unfair, and he warned allies against taking retaliatory measures against steep metal tariffs that he imposed last month.

“We’re like the piggy bank that everybody’s robbing,” Trump said. “And that ends.”

Ending trade with other nations under the current system, Trump said, would be “a very profitable answer if I have to do it.”

The remarks, following a two-day meeting in Canada with the world’s largest industrialized economies, were among the most strident Trump has used to describe what he sees as an out-of-whack global trade system that he says harms U.S. industries.

Speaking to reporters before leaving for his meeting in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump tried to downplay any notion that the meeting in Canada was contentious.

He repeatedly described his relationship with the other leaders at the summit as “a 10” and said he did not blame the other countries for their positions on trade.

Trump drew international criticism last month for leveling a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% duty on aluminum, measures the president says are necessary for national security. The president has also said he is considering a tariff on imported cars.

The president said the ideal situation would be a completely free trade system with the other G-7 nations — Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada. Under such an arrangement, he said, the U.S. would agree to remove all tariffs and barriers if the other countries did as well.

Trump did not indicate that he had received any concessions in his negotiations on trade at the summit. Several other leaders have threatened retaliatory tariffs. </s> President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony for the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement at the Lotte New York Palace hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ORG XMIT: NYEV130

NEW YORK – President Donald Trump blamed Iranian leaders for sowing "chaos, death and destruction" in a steely speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that heavily emphasized the president's support of national sovereignty over globalism.

Touting his meeting this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and blasting Iran for spreading mayhem in the Middle East, Trump offered an impassioned defense of a foreign policy doctrine he said would allow countries to reject "global governance."

"We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism," Trump said. "We will never surrender America’s sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable, global bureaucracy."

Lobbying criticism at a bevy of international institutions, Trump called the U.N. human rights council "a grave embarrassment to this institution" and said the International Criminal Court "has no jurisdiction, no legitimacy and no authority." He touted some of his most divisive foreign policy decisions, including his crackdown on immigration and his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The "America first" remarks drew on a similar speech he delivered at the United Nations last year but included more detailed examples of how that vision informs his policies on trade, immigration and the world's hot spots.

Though Trump reserved his harshest language for Iran, he did not shy away from condemning other countries by name. He jabbed China for what he said were unfair trade policies. And he announced sanctions against Venezuelan leaders and blasted the government of its president, Nicolas Maduro, saying his socialist policies have "bankrupted the oil-rich nation and driven its people into abject poverty."

Trump suggested he would sharply curtail U.S. foreign aid, saying he ordered a review by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of whether countries that receive American assistance are allies with shared values.

"We are only going to give foreign aid to those who respect us and, frankly, are our friends," Trump said. "And we expect other countries to pay their fair share for the cost of their defense."

In an awkward moment, minutes into his speech, the delegates in the chamber laughed at a regular talking point from the president. Trump said his administration had accomplished more than any other in U.S. history, prompting the reaction from the General Assembly hall.

More: Trump's boast at the United Nations prompts laughter from world leaders and ridicule on Twitter

“So true,” Trump said. “I didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK.”

Trump’s boast drew ridicule from his critics on Twitter. “Preposterous,” tweeted Nicholas Burns, a longtime diplomat who served in the Obama and Clinton administrations.

Trump's remarks were buffeted by warnings from other world leaders that America's pullback from the international institutions was ill-conceived and even dangerous.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a passionate defense of multilateralism, saying it was the only way to stave off instability and conflict across the globe. He rebuked Trump’s message, suggesting that “brandishing sovereignty” was a way of attacking others.

In the absence of a strong American commitment to preserving the international order, Macron suggested, France and other European countries could step into the void, leading the charge against urgent global threats, such as climate change, poverty and inequality.

“Do not accept the erosion of multilateralism. Don’t accept our history unraveling," Macron said to a receptive audience.

Macron focused on climate change as an issue that demanded “global mobilization” from other developed countries after Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, which aims to curb global warming by gradually reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases.

“The Paris agreement has stayed intact, and that is because we have decided to stay unified in spite of the U.S. decision to withdraw. This is power,” Macron said. “Let’s stop signing trade agreements with those who don’t comply with the Paris agreement,” he added, outlining a strategy that would isolate the United States.

Macron had company in offering a sharp contrast to Trump's address. Speaking before Trump arrived at the podium, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented the rise of populism and a fraying of international cooperation – trends the U.S. president has fueled.

“Multilateralism is under fire precisely when we need it most,” Guterres declared.

“Trust in global governance is also fragile, as 21st-century challenges outpace 20th-century institutions and mindsets,” Guterres said. “Among countries, cooperation is less certain and more difficult. Divisions in our Security Council are stark.”

Guterres said the world risks consequences if leaders do not act quickly on the problem of climate change.

"There is no way forward but collective, common-sense action for the common good," he said.

More: Trump: 'No plans' to meet with Iran's Hassan Rouhani at United Nations

More: Trump: 2nd summit with N. Korean leader Kim Jong Un to happen soon

Trump wants allies at the United Nations to isolate Iran rather than try to salvage the 2015 nuclear agreement. The president described the nuclear deal as a "windfall" for Iranian leaders, accusing them of using eased sanctions in the agreement to fund terrorism.

"We cannot allow the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism to possess the planet’s most dangerous weapons," Trump said. "We cannot allow a regime that chants, 'Death to America' and that threatens Israel with annihilation to possess the means to deliver a nuclear warhead to any city on Earth. Just can't do it." </s> U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 26, 2018. (Photo: Reuters)

DAVOS: U.S. President Donald Trump will tell a top-level gathering of political leaders and chief executives on Friday that his administration will not tolerate intellectual property theft and trade abuses, senior U.S. administration officials said.

An official, briefing journalists at the World Economic Forum in Davos, also sought to dispel any impression of disarray over the value of the dollar, saying there was no "daylight" between Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over the strength of the currency.

Trump said on Thursday he ultimately wants the dollar to be strong, lifting the greenback briefly and contradicting Mnuchin who depressed the dollar earlier when he said he was happy with its current level.

Mnuchin's comments supportive of a weaker dollar were seen by the markets as indicating a shift in U.S. policy and sent the greenback sharply lower, sparking concerns from European allies about a trade war.

"I don't think there's any daylight between the President and Secretary Mnuchin," one of the administration officials told reporters in Davos.

"I think that there were some people who took some comments that the Secretary made where he was essentially reciting and explaining in descriptive manner a basic economic principle and took it to represent ... some sort of policy announcement or shift."

"When you go back and look at the transcript of what he said, it was quite clear that that was not the case."

Trump is due to give the main closing address at the forum in Davos, where outright and veiled criticism of his America First agenda captured headlines ahead of the president's arrival on Thursday.

That agenda has included unilateral trade sanctions andthreats of more action, particularly against China.

"The United States will no longer tolerate things like thetheft of intellectual property or forced technology transfers orindustrial subsidies ... and dumping, trade abuses," the U.S.official told reporters in Davos.

Trump was due to give his speech at 1300 GMT.

The official said Trump's stance on trade should be viewedless as a warning than an explanation of his commitment to theinternational trading system and enforcing "rules of the road".

Trump is the first sitting U.S. president to visit theannual summit since Bill Clinton in 2000. He was greeted onarrival on Thursday by hundreds of curious delegates who snappedpictures as he entered the congress centre.

He made an immediate impression: apart from talking up the dollar, he threatened to withhold aid to Palestinians unless they pursued peace with Israel.

But the thrust of his visit has been to convince businessleaders to step up investment in the United States.

"A lot of people are coming back to the United States. Weare seeing tremendous investment and today has been a veryexciting day. Very great day and great for our country. Thankyou very much," Trump told reporters in Davos on Thursday.

After meeting the prime ministers of Britain and Israel on Thursday, Trump hosted a dinner with leaders of some of the world's largest firms, including Nestle, SAP and Siemens, Deloitte and Bayer.

Trump, a real estate mogul and former reality TV star, hadnever been invited to Davos before. He basked in the praise ofseveral executives, who applauded his tax cuts.

Two European executives told Reuters they were staying awayfrom the dinner because they did not want to shake Trump's hand.One of them consulted with his wife and children before decidingto dine elsewhere.

Those who showed up were treated to a meal of grilled beeftenderloin with green pea puree or fried Swiss pike perch withpurple carrot puree.

Trump gave each corporate leader an opportunity to describetheir businesses briefly. Many mentioned the corporate tax cutsthat Trump pushed through the U.S. Congress late last year as apositive sign of growth and investment, according to a Reutersreporter who was present.

His speech on Friday will follow a week of warnings byEuropean leaders on the dangers of nationalism, isolationism andprotectionism.

Without naming Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel evokedthe build-up to the two world wars and openly questioned whetherleaders had learned the lessons from those 20th centuryconflicts.

Before his trip to Davos, Trump imposed 30 percent tariffson imported solar panels, among the first unilateral traderestrictions made by the administration as part of a broaderprotectionist agenda.

Trump later told CNBC in an interview that he supported astrong dollar and expected the currency to rise.

"The dollar is going to get stronger and stronger andultimately I want to see a strong dollar," he said, adding thatMnuchin's comments had been misinterpreted.

There is broad concern in European capitals that 2018 couldbe the year Trump's 'America First' bark on trade turns into bite, as he considers punitive measures on steel and threatens to end the 90s-era North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

Policymakers have been openly critical of his foreign policybut with the U.S. stock market soaring, corporate tax cutspadding companies' pockets and U.S. consumers spending again,some companies here are quietly applauding the U.S. president.

Trump used a TV appearance from Davos to laud America'srelationship with Britain and sought to smooth over a recentbilateral spat caused by his retweeting of anti-Muslim videosoriginally posted by a leader of a far-right group. </s> President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives on Air Force One Tuesday, July 30, 2019, at Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday the U.S. will apply a new tariff of 10% on about $300 billion worth of products from China beginning Sept. 1, escalating the two countries’ festering trade dispute.

Trump tweeted amid slow-moving talks with China that negotiations will continue. But he blamed China for not following through on stopping the sale of fentanyl to the United States or purchasing large quantities of farm goods such as soybeans.

Stocks immediately tumbled on the news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had been up nearly 300 points earlier, was down nearly 200 points soon after Trump’s tweets.

The U.S. has already applied tariffs of 25% on $250 billion worth of goods from China. China retaliated with tariffs on $110 billion in American goods, including agricultural products, in a direct shot at Trump supporters in the U.S. farm belt.

Trump’s threats come after a U.S. delegation returned to Washington from what the White House described as “constructive” trade talks. The negotiations were expected to resume in Washington in September, though exact dates were not announced.

Trump issued the tariff threat in a series of tweets. He also tweeted “we look forward to continuing our positive dialogue with China on a comprehensive Trade Deal, and feel that the future between our two countries will be a very bright one!”

The world’s two biggest economies are locked in a trade war over U.S. allegations that Beijing uses predatory tactics — including stealing trade secrets and forcing foreign companies to hand over technology — in a drive to overtake American technological dominance.

Talks had broken down in May after the United States accused the Chinese of reneging on earlier commitments. </s> US President Donald Trump holds his first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday facing pressure to deliver trade concessions for some of his most fervent supporters and prevent a crisis with North Korea from spiraling out of control. The leaders of the world’s two biggest economies are to greet each other at the president’s Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, late in the afternoon and dine together with their wives, kicking off a summit that will conclude with a working lunch on Friday.

Trump promised during the 2016 campaign to stop what he called the theft of American jobs by China and rebuild the country’s manufacturing base. Many blue-collar workers helped propel him to his unexpected election victory on Nov. 8 and Trump wants to deliver for them.

The Republican president tweeted last week that the United States could no longer tolerate massive trade deficits and job losses and that his meeting with Xi “will be a very difficult one.”

Trump, a former real estate magnate is still finding his footing in the White House and has yet to spell out a strategy for what his advisers called a trade relationship based on “the principal of reciprocity.”

White House officials have set low expectations for the meeting, saying it will set the foundation for future dealings. U.S. labor leaders say Trump needs to take a direct, unambiguous tone in his talks with Xi.

“President Trump needs to come away from the meeting with concrete deliverables that will restore production and employment here in the U.S. in those sectors that have been ravaged by China’s predatory and protectionist practices,” said Holly Hart, legislative director for the United Steelworkers union.

International Association of Machinists President Robert Martinez said the United States continued to lose manufacturing jobs to the Chinese, saying: “It’s time to bring our jobs home now.” Some Democratic lawmakers were eager to pounce on Trump on trade.

“We are eager to understand your plans to correct our current China trade policies and steer a new course,” said Democratic U.S. Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts.

The summit will bring together two leaders who could not seem more different: the often stormy Trump, prone to angry tweets, and Xi, outwardly calm, measured and tightly scripted, with no known social media presence.

What worries the protocol-conscious Chinese more than policy clashes is the risk that the unpredictable Trump could publicly embarrass Xi, after several foreign leaders experienced awkward moments with the new U.S. president.

“Ensuring President Xi does not lose face is a top priority for China,” a Chinese official said.

The most urgent problem facing Trump and Xi is how to persuade nuclear-armed North Korea to halt unpredictable behavior like missile test launches that have heightened tensions in South Korea and Japan.

North Korea is working to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.

Trump has threatened to use trade to try to force China to exert influence over Pyongyang. Beijing says its influence is limited and that it is doing all it can but that it is up to the United States to find a way back to talks with North Korea.

A senior White House official said North Korea was a test for the US-Chinese relationship. “The clock is very, very quickly running out,” the official said. “All options are on the table for us.”

Trump consulted on Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who said he and the president agreed by phone that North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launch was “a dangerous provocation and a serious threat.”

A White House strategy review is focusing on options for pressuring Pyongyang economically and militarily. Among measures under consideration are “secondary sanctions” against Chinese banks and firms that do the most business with Pyongyang.

A long-standing option of pre-emptive strikes remains on the table, but despite the tougher recent U.S. talk, the internal review “de-emphasizes direct military action,” the US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Analysts believe any military action would likely provoke severe North Korean retaliation and massive casualties in South Korea and Japan and among U.S. troops stationed there. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday launched the first salvo in the renegotiation of the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying its top priority for the talks was shrinking the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico.

FILE PHOTO - A car hauler heading for Detroit, Michigan, drives on the lane to Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo

In a much-anticipated document sent to lawmakers, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he would seek to reduce the trade imbalance by improving access for U.S. goods exported to Canada and Mexico under the three-nation pact.

For the first time in a U.S. trade deal, the administration also said it wants an “appropriate” provision to deter currency manipulation by trading partners. The move appeared aimed at future trade deals rather than specifically at Canada and Mexico, which are not considered currency manipulators.

The 17-page document asserted that no country should manipulate its currency exchange rate to gain an unfair competitive advantage, an often-cited complaint about China in past years.

Shortly before the release of the document, President Donald Trump lashed out against trade deals and unfair trade practices, saying he would take more legal and regulatory steps during the next six months to protect American manufacturers.

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said the U.S. list was “part of its internal process” although a source familiar with the Canadian government’s thinking said the document was “not earth shattering.”

The source said officials from the United States, Mexico and Canada would meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss logistics of the talks. No date has been announced for the NAFTA talks, but they are expected in mid-August.

Mexico’s economy ministry said in a statement it would work “to achieve a constructive negotiation process that will allow trade and investment flows to increase and consolidates cooperation and economic integration to strengthen North American competitiveness.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Mexican government official said the list of priorities was “not as bad as I was expecting” and welcomed that the United States was not pushing to impose punitive tariffs, as Trump has threatened.

Trade experts have argued that shrinking the yawning U.S. trade deficit will not be achieved through trade deals but rather by boosting U.S. savings.

“The first bullet point shows their preoccupation with bilateral trade deficits and that’s unfortunate,” said Chad Bown, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “There’s not much that trade policy and trade agreements can do to change those. That’s more of a macroeconomic issue.”

Among the priorities, Lighthizer said the administration would seek to eliminate a trade dispute mechanism that has largely prohibited the United States from pursuing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases against Canadian and Mexican firms.

There was no mention of active disputes between the United States and Canada over softwood lumber and dairy products, but the document targeted a range of agricultural non-tariff barriers, including subsidies and unfair pricing structures, that are currently at the heart of those standoffs.

USTR said it would seek to strengthen NAFTA’s rules of origin to ensure that the pact’s benefits do not go to outside countries and to “incentivize” the sourcing of U.S. goods. It offered no details on such incentives and did not specify how much of a product’s components must originate from NAFTA countries.

AUTOMAKERS SUPPORT STANCE

Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, a group representing U.S. automakers, welcomed the decision to include objectives on the removal of regulatory barriers and the provision on currency manipulation.

A spokesman for Ford Motor Co said: “Foreign currency manipulation is the 21st century trade barrier, and we strongly support the inclusion of this top-tier issue in the U.S. negotiating objectives for NAFTA.”

The document also outlined plans to upgrade standards for labor and the environment and govern digital trade. Canada and Mexico have already agreed to upgrade these areas as part of the defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

Earlier on Monday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said NAFTA had been an “unequivocal failure” and should be completely renegotiated although he stopped short of calling on Trump to abandon the agreement if there was no agreement.

“We will do everything we can to make this a good agreement and to hold the president at his word and make sure we get a renegotiation,” the head of the 12.5-million-strong union umbrella group told a conference call with reporters.

FILE PHOTO - Robert Lighthizer speaks after he was sworn as U.S. Trade Representative during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, U.S. on May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

“If it comes out that it is not a good deal, no deal is better than a bad deal,” Trumka said.

NAFTA has quadrupled trade among the three countries, surpassing $1 trillion in 2015, but the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico exceeded $63 billion last year.
U.S. President Donald Trump calls for "fair and reciprocal" trades between the United States and other countries, claiming that the United States is a "piggy bank that everyone keeps robbing".