ISRI2017: Determining the direction of US trade policy
ISRI2017: Determining the direction of US trade policy
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Pictured above, from left: Scott Miller of CSIS, Paul DeLaney of Kyle House Group
and Adina Renee Adler of ISRI
Robert Lighthizer, President Trump’s pick for U.S. Trade Representative, has yet to be confirmed, which has contributed to uncertainty regarding the direction of U.S. trade policy under the Trump administration, said Scott Miller of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington.
Miller, along with Paul DeLaney of the Washington-headquartered Kyle House Group, spoke at the session “U.S. Trade Policy and What to Expect Over the Next Four Years” during the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries 2017 Convention & Exposition (ISRI2017) in late April in New Orleans. Adina Renee Adler, ISRI senior director of government relations and international affairs, moderated the session.
Miller described Trump as a “disruptive force,” adding that that was the reason he won the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
“Predictability has been in short supply since Nov. 8,” Miller said, adding that Trump is the least ideological president the U.S. has had since Eisenhower.
“He has clear views on international trade, however,” he said, adding that they are based in economic nationalism and putting American interests first.
DeLaney said Trump believes the U.S. has been on the wrong end of trade negotiations and has expressed interest in bilateral agreements rather than multilateral trade negotiations. This is counter to what Republications have traditionally supported, he added.
Recently, Trump backed away from comments he had made earlier about China manipulating its currently. Miller said that using criteria Congress has specified, China has not been manipulating its currency for the last 24 months. However, Trump said the reason he backed down from his previous position had to do with its help with North Korea and not this fact.
China presents an immediate test for reciprocal trade concepts, DeLaney said, adding that focusing solely on the trade deficit is risky.
Sens. Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham brought their concerns about trade with China before Congress, spurred to action by their constituents in the farming industry, who told them that China is their best customer, Miller said. “If China is your best customer, make sure your congressman knows that.”
Regarding renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), DeLaney says we’ve already seen Trump take the hard line with Canada when it comes to trade on lumber. April 24, 2017, the administration introduced tariffs of up to 24 percent on lumber shipped into the United States from Canada.
Scott said, “NAFTA was sold on the demand side but operates on the supply side,” adding that it was a powerful tool to integrate production systems in North America. “Tearing up NAFTA has massive downside risk,” he said, including the U.S manufacturing becoming less competitive outside of North America.
However, Scott said that NAFTA could use “modernizing,” particularly regarding e-commerce. “Things have changed a lot in the last couple of decades,” he said.
Scott said he hopes Congress will ask tough questions regarding possible changes to NAFTA and that three months of formal negotiations between the administration and Congress will be required before NAFTA can be changed.
“If you’ve spent the last 23 years developing supply chains, you are probably not interested in renegotiations,” DeLaney said. He predicted pushback from Congress regarding changes to or a U.S. exit from NAFTA.
He added that the tax reform debate also could affect trade policy, referring to the proposed border adjustment tax (BAT), which would give tax breaks to American companies that export products and would remove tax breaks from American companies that import goods.
“The president comes from a history of win-lose negotiations,” Scott said. “That doesn’t square with how trade negotiations generally work.” He added that the objective of trade negotiations is for all parties to win.
ISRI2017 was April 22-27 in New Orleans at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
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Source: Recycling Today
ISRI2017: Determining the direction of US trade policy
<![CDATA[Pictured above, from left: Scott Miller of CSIS, Paul DeLaney of Kyle House Groupand Adina Renee Adler of ISRIRobert Lighthizer, President Trump’s pick for U.S. Trade Representative, has yet to be confirmed, which has contributed to uncertainty regarding the direction of U.S. trade policy under the Trump administration, said Scott Miller of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington. Miller, along with Paul DeLaney of the Washington-headquartered Kyle House Group, spoke at the session “U.S. Trade Policy and What to Expect Over the Next Four Years” during the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries 2017 Convention & Exposition (ISRI2017) in late April in New Orleans. Adina Renee Adler, ISRI senior director of government relations and international affairs, moderated the session. Miller described Trump as a “disruptive force,” adding that that was the reason he won the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “Predictability has been in short supply since Nov. 8,” Miller said, adding that Trump is the least ideological president the U.S. has had since Eisenhower. “He has clear views on international trade, however,” he said, adding that they are based in economic nationalism and putting American interests first. DeLaney said Trump believes the U.S. has been on the wrong end…