In the opening session of talks for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the US did not give precise details of how much it wanted to boost North American content for automobiles, a source directly familiar with the negotiations said on Saturday.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer this week said Washington wanted tougher rules of origin for autos, which determine how much of a vehicle must be built in the three NAFTA nations.
He also said the US was seeking new measures to ensure “substantial US content” for autos.
Companies wishing to take advantage of free trade in goods guaranteed by NAFTA must currently meet the 62.5 percent North American content requirement for autos and 60 percent for components.
However, during the opening four-hour round of talks on rules of origin on Friday, the US delegation did not give details of how much it wanted the requirements to be lifted by.
It also did not give a specific figure for what substantial US content for autos could mean, said the source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
US officials said they could not confirm the source’s account.
The US, Canada and Mexico on Wednesday opened talks in Washington to modernize NAFTA, which was signed in 1994. Agreement on a revised NAFTA could pivot on the autos sector, given its weight in trade.
The US had autos and auto parts trade deficits of US$74 billion with Mexico and US$5.6 billion with Canada last year, both major components of overall US goods trade deficits with its North American neighbors.
Administration officials say strengthening the rules of origin for autos will help boost well-paid jobs in the US, as well as cut the trade deficit with Mexico, another key Trump goal.
Auto industry groups from Canada, Mexico and the US are pushing back against the demand for higher US automotive content, saying it would be too complex.
According to a schedule seen by Reuters, negotiators were due to continue discussing rules of origin on Saturday as well as yesterday morning.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last