President Trump made renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement a top issue during his election campaign, but he has moved slowly on it since taking office. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the administration is waiting for Senate confirmation of Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative before it starts the clock running for discussions with Canada and Mexico.
“Well, I think the first thing with respect to trade is we need to have the Senate to approve Robert Lighthizer as the next U.S. trade representative,” Spicer told reporters when asked about the status of NAFTA revisions. “We still have an official 90-day notification that we have to give Congress, and so once we get Ambassador Lighthizer confirmed we’ll be ready to probably announce a better work plan on that.”
The Senate Finance Committee has delayed a vote on Lighthizer until after lawmakers return from a two-week recess on April 24. Lighthizer has strong support for USTR but confirmation has been delayed by questions about whether he needs a congressional waiver from a 1995 law that prohibits USTR candidates from working for other nations, said Reuters.
Trump has made Mexico his chief target for the negotiations and has said he anticipates small changes in terms with Canada. Farm groups are worried about possible disruptions in trade with the two U.S. neighbors. After China, Canada and Mexico are the top markets for U.S. farm exports, accounting for 30 percent of sales. They also are the source of 44 percent of U.S. food and ag imports.
In late March, a draft letter circulated on Capitol Hill that was believed to lay out the administration’s goals for NAFTA talks. The points listed in the letter were milder than Trump’s campaign comments.