WASHINGTON — Trade negotiators are in Montreal for the next round of talks regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement. The session could be the last round of significant talks before the Mexican presidential campaigns which lead up to a July first election. The talks will end on January 29th, when the top U.S., Mexican and Canadian trade officials are scheduled to meet.
“I think we are going to know something pretty specific by the end of this month,” said Mike Zuzolo of Global Commodity Analytics. “After this sixth and final round of talks, Donald Trump will have to decide whether or not to terminate NAFTA and kick the six month negotiation process into gear.”
As Mexico, Canada and the U.S. hash out details of what may or may not be a workable NAFTA agreement, Canada has landed a role in another major trade deal. Formerly the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the now renamed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership looks to be a done deal after talks in Japan last week.
“The TPP 11 deal puts a lot of pressure squarely on President Trump,” Zuzolo said. “Here at home and around the world he is starting to see that his base needs to be protected. The agriculture and manufacturing sectors are what got him into office as he turned blue states into red states thanks to people in those industries.”
That may mean another look at the U.S. getting a piece of the TPP 11 action, an agreement that President Trump pulled out of shortly after being sworn in.
“The way to better trade agreements is to improve the ones you already have,” Zuzolo said. “Especially in this political time period where we need to make some head way and not just stick our heads in the sand in Washington D.C. and essentially do nothing until the mid-term elections.
The TPP 11 agreement is scheduled for a signing ceremony in March.
ABOUT GLOBAL COMMODITY ANALYTICS
Headquartered out of his home-office in Atchison, KS, Mike’s office at Global Commodity Analytics & Consulting LLC is as technologically advanced as many offices in cities such as Chicago and New York, with state-of-the-art trading software and real-time quotes. Global Commodity Analytics clears its futures and options trades through one of the premier FCM’s in the country, Straits Financial LLC. Sign up for a free 2-week newsletter trial at www.GlobalAnalytics.biz
–Global Commodity Analytics & Consulting LLC