The Trump administration is signaling to Congress that in coming negotiations with Mexico and Canada it will seek mostly modest changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, a deal President Donald Trump called a “disaster” during the campaign. An administration draft proposal being circulated in Congress by the U.S. trade representative’s office would keep some of the most controversial provisions, including one establishing an arbitration panel that investors in the three nations can use to resolve civil claims, bypassing local courts.
.. NUMBER OF THE DAY $528.2 billion The amount investors borrowed against their brokerage accounts in February, a record high for margin debt and a fresh sign of bullishness among flummoxed investors trying to navigate the political and economic crosscurrents driving markets.
Theresa May’s Empty Brexit Promises
She also said that she was prepared to walk away from the negotiations if Britain didn’t get what it wanted, in which case the country would crash out of the E.U. with no agreement at all. She said “no deal” was preferable to “a bad deal for Britain.” That language went over well with the Daily Mail and the Sun, but it really amounted to the Prime Minister putting a gun to her head and threatening to shoot. As a negotiating ploy, it failed miserably.
The leaders of the E.U., meanwhile, want to discourage other member countries from following the U.K.’s example, and appear increasingly determined to impose a harsh deal on London.
.. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, was asked if there was any leeway to reach a friendly arrangement with Britain. “Some things are not for sale,” she said, indicating that the U.K. would not receive any concessions that undermined the free movement of goods and people within the E.U.
Treasury’s Mnuchin Fends Off Push to Reject Protectionism
BADEN-BADEN, Germany—U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin rebuffed a concerted push by world finance chiefs on Saturday to disavow protectionism, fanning fears that the Trump administration’s pursuit of an “America First” policy could ignite global trade conflicts.
.. At a news conference, Mr. Mnuchin said earlier language on protectionism “was not necessarily relevant from my standpoint.”
He also warned that some global trade agreements weren’t being enforced, and that the new administration would be aggressive in doing so.
.. Mr. Schäuble said at a news conference that Mr. Mnuchin appeared to have no mandate to negotiate any new or creative commitments on trade.
.. Brazil Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles told the G-20 about his country’s own experience with protectionism as the country has just experienced its worst recession on record.
“We had adopted during the last years some protectionist measures for some sectors of the economy and the net result was not positive,”
.. Evidence that it may just be too soon for the U.S. to offer the G-20 anything substantive on trade, financial regulation, tax overhauls and other policies, Mr. Mnuchin relied on senior civil servants to conduct much of the detailed negotiations at the meeting.
.. If trade czar Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon, a top Trump adviser and self-described economic nationalist, have their way, many officials fear the White House could trigger a trade war. The administration has advocated applying unilateral actions that eschew a rules-based multilateral order, including submission to the World Trade Organization’s authority.
.. The U.S. delegation found a rare ally in Japan, which came to the defense of Mr. Mnuchin, saying talks over American protectionism were overblown.
The Economic Anxieties That Motivate Donald Trump Loyalists
The president’s backers often cite the trade imbalance, federal debt and the cost of foreign wars—not health insurance or immigrants
Yet there is a solid cadre of Trump supporters who aren’t turned off by the turmoil, but rather see it as a sign that something is happening. They remain loyal; for them, the Trump message is more important than the messenger.
.. an estimate of the total cumulative cost of military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere over the last 15 years, which runs north of $1.5 trillion.
.. In a January Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, for example, addressing trade unfairness and keeping jobs from going abroad far outranked deporting illegal immigrants or building a border wall as top priorities among Trump voters... the fact that Mr. Trump has effectively tapped into these sentiments doesn’t necessarily mean his policies will resolve the underlying problems. In fact, they actually could make them worse.His desire for a big tax cut, his defense buildup and his reluctance to trim Medicare or roll back Medicaid growth may grow the debt further. His pledge to wipe Islamic State “from the face of the earth” could add to the costs of overseas adventures. His trade policies could set off trade wars that would undermine the economy without ending that trade deficit... They are told, for example, that budget deficits and debt don’t undermine the economy, but don’t buy it.