Trade deals to be reviewed from time-to-time: IMF Chief on NAFTA
The Dollar Business Bureau The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Christine Lagarde on Friday defended the ongoing negotiations of NAFTA, arguing that any trade agreement that is 20 years old requires to be reviewed and revised. “For a trade agreement, which has been in existence for, what, 20 years now, it is not unusual or unnecessary to actually look into it, go under the skin of the agreement, find out what works, what does not work, what can be improved, what new topics should be considered - given the changes that have affected the markets in the last two decades,” she told journalists at a news conference in Washington. Lagarde, who served as French commerce and industry minister, ...
Mexico agrees to talk about tough NAFTA issues
The Dollar Business Bureau Mexico agreed on Wednesday to start discussions on tough issues in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which is likely to begin on August 16. Canada has vehemently opposed a US proposal to do away with binational dispute resolution panels in which experts on the review panel review the decisions to impose tariffs or quotas. Though the Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo denied taking any immediate position on the ‘panel issue’, but added that Mexico is keen to see that the process is modernised. In an interview Guajardo refused to take any stand, ‘I don’t think that when you start negotiations, it does any good to shadow box.’ He instead agreed to putting strong ...
Trump softens stand on NAFTA, agrees to renegotiate
The Dollar Business Bureau In a recent telephonic conversation with the Canadian Prime Minister and Mexican President, Trump agreed to renegotiate NAFTA instead of scrapping the trilateral trade deal. On his twitter account, he stated, “I received calls from the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada asking to renegotiate NAFTA rather than terminate. I agreed – subject to the fact that if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA. Relationships are good-deal very possible!” Many on either side of the border are breathing a sigh of relief as Trump softens his stance on termination of the deal which is more than two decades old. However, Trump continues to stress that the deal was ...
After 100 day mark, Indian envoy sees promise in India-US relations under Trump
The Dollar Business Bureau Former Indian Ambassador to the US, Arun Singh, spoke at length about the progression of India-US ties in the first 100 days of Trump's presidency. With the end of April 2017 marking the 100-day milestone of Trump's reign as the leader of the free world, many have expressed dissatisfaction with his rather capricious style of ruling. Be it Trump reneging on his own words or him lacking the wherewithal to get Congress to pass his reforms, his performance so far has been the subject of much public derision. On the other hand, Indian diplomat Arun Singh, who has seen India-US relations enhance during most of Bush's and Obama's tenure, backs the new US administration and sees much promise in its attitude towards India. “As the engagement of the past hundred days ...
Trump's nominee for Trade Representative reaffirms 'America First' policy
The Dollar Business Bureau Donald Trump's top contender for the post of US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, during his confirmation hearing on March 14, 2017, reaffirmed that he would aggressively implement the 'America First' policy. Promising to make amends to America's Trade Policy in favour of American workers and exporters, he fired threats against countries like China and Canada, which have huge trade surpluses with the USA. "I expect that we're going to have a very rigorous enforcement policy," Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee. Emphasizing trade enforcement, he said that he would do everything possible to provide America a level playing field, within the boundaries of WTO and other bilateral trade agreements the USA is bound with. He also ...
Trump keen on taking forward India-US relations
The Dollar Business Bureau US President Donald Trump’s views of Indo-US relationship is very positive and is keen to take the bilateral relationship forward, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said, after he met the senior cabinet officials of the US government. Speaking with the Indian reporters on the margins of the India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, which was started during the ex-President Barack Obama-led administration, Jaishankar said: "Optimistic" about the continuation of the upward trajectory of the bilateral relationship. Overall, (the) sense was that the Administration has a very positive view of the relationship, positive view of India. We saw a lot of goodwill and a lot of interest in taking the relationship forward.” The two countries are currently working on the nitty-gritty ...
Post Trudeau's visit, Trump declares NAFTA will only be tweaked
The Dollar Business Bureau Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on February 13, 2017, for the first time, visited Washington to meet the newly elected President of USA, Donald Trump. During a press conference post their meet at the White House, the two leaders affirmed their intent to continue the historically close alliance and strengthen trade as well as border security in the North American continent. Evading much deliberation on huge underlying ideological differences concerning immigration, intake of refugees and cross-border trade, both the leaders chose to focus on the special bond that Canada and US have shared for long years in defence, counter-terrorism and trade. "Thirty five US states, list Canada as their largest export market and our economies benefit from over $2 billion in two-way ...
Protectionist stance will shrink global growth, warns Jaitley
The Dollar Business Bureau Finance Minister Arun Jaitely on Thursday cautioned the world about adopting US President Donald Trump-influenced trade protectionist stance and said such a move will translate into inefficient economies and contracted GDP growth across the world. Speaking at the ASSOCHAM annual meeting in New Delhi, Jaitley said the world has witnessed a sluggish growth for the last few years and such a move will only complicate the global economies scenarios even further. “Developed countries have turned protectionist...If it has impact on trade, movement of goods and people, (it) could make economies more inefficient and reduce GDP,” he said. Jaitley had presented rather a calculated Union Budget, which came in the backdrop of rising global crude prices, raising risks of inflation, in turn affecting ...
