作者: 阿Q別傳        06/07/2018:

墨西哥還以顏色制裁美國進口產品報復特朗普

特朗普宣告對墨西哥鋼鐵和鋁進口加稅之後，墨西哥不像中國軟弱，六月五日立馬宣告對美國三十億的鋼鐵豬肉和其他農業產品進口加稅，還以顏色。

打蛇打在七寸上，以上美國產品都屬來自美國共和黨高官之選民所屬州，如副總統彭斯（Mike Pence）印第安納州的鋼鐵製品，參議院盧比奧（Marco Rubio）弗羅里達州之氣艇，眾議員麥卡塞（Kevin McCarthy）加州之農產等等。。。。 ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"

相較之下，號稱世界經濟第二大國，軍事第三大國的中國不但不戰而降，讓特朗普得其所哉予取予攜之外，還奴顏卑膝雙手奉送天價的變相保護費用，令人齒冷。

（特朗普推特名言（2018年4月8日）：

“無論我們在貿易商有何分歧，我和習近平總統將一直是好友。中國將會減少貿易壁壘，因為這是正確的。。。。。”）

紐約時報全文如下：

Mexico, Hitting Back, Imposes Tariffs on $3 Billion Worth of U.S. Goods
A steel production site in Ontario. The Trump administration hit Canada and Mexico with steel and aluminum tariffs, straining relations.CreditJustin Tang/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

By Ana Swanson and Jim Tankersley

• June 5, 2018

WASHINGTON — Mexico hit back at the United States on Tuesday, imposing tariffs on around $3 billion worth of American pork, steel, cheese and other goods in response to the Trump administration’s steel and aluminum levies, further straining relations between the two countries as they struggle to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement. ...華岳論壇 - "http://hua-yue.net"

The tariffs, which were announced last week, came into effect as the Trump administration threw yet another complication into the fractious Nafta talks. Officials are now saying they want to splinter discussions with Canada and Mexico and work on separate agreements rather than continue three-country discussions to rewrite the 1994 trade deal. ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"

Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s chief economic adviser, said on Tuesday that Mr. Trump’s “preference now, and he asked me to convey this, is to actually negotiate with Mexico and Canada separately.” ...華岳論壇 - "http://hua-yue.net"

Mr. Kudlow, speaking on “Fox and Friends,” said pursuing separate deals might allow an agreement to be reached “more rapidly,” adding: “I think that’s the key point. You know, Nafta has kind of dragged on.” ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"

The Trump administration hit Mexico and Canada with 25 percent steel tariffs and 10 percent aluminum tariffs on June 1 as part of a campaign to pressure the countries to agree to America’s demands on a revised Nafta. The United States also imposed metals tariffs on the European Union, Japan and other countries as part of an effort to stop the flow of imported metals, which the administration has said threatens national security by degrading the American industrial base. ...華岳論壇 - "http://hua-yue.net"
The trade approach has only inflamed allies, including Canada and Mexico, which have threatened to strike back with their own targeted tariffs aimed at Republican states and areas that supported Mr. Trump.

Mexico’s list was designed to hit at parts of the United States represented by high-profile Republicans, Mexican officials have said, including steel from Vice President Mike Pence’s home state of Indiana, motorboats from Senator Marco Rubio’s Florida, and agricultural products from the California district of Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader. ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"

Farmers, who are among those most vulnerable to the Mexican tariffs, said the tariffs would devastate American agriculture.

“These tariffs will exact immediate and painful consequences on many American farmers,” Angela Hofmann, deputy director of Farmers for Free Trade, said in a statement. “Hog, apple, potato and dairy farmers are among those suddenly facing a 10 or 20 percent tax hike on the exports they depend of for their livelihoods. Farmers need certainty and open markets to make ends meet. Right now they are getting chaos and protectionism.” ...華岳論壇 - "http://hua-yue.net"

It is unclear which country will blink first, leaving the future of the trade deal, and the millions of jobs across the continent that are linked to it, so uncertain that many companies are withholding investments they might make to take advantage of the pact. ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"

Mr. Kudlow insisted that the president was not planning to withdraw from Nafta — which he has frequently threatened to do. However, splitting the current trilateral deal into two separate bilateral agreements would likely require nullifying the 25-year-old agreement. ...華岳論壇 - "http://hua-yue.net"

On Friday, Mr. Trump said he would be interested in pursuing separate deals. “These are two very different countries,” he said.

“I like free trade, but I want fair trade,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “They cannot believe they’ve gotten away with this for so many decades.”

People familiar with the deliberations say the idea of separate talks is aimed at pressuring Canada, which American negotiators see as obstructionist and an impediment to the progress of the Nafta negotiations. The preference for bilateral negotiations has also emerged as one of the sole areas of agreement among Mr. Trump’s warring trade advisers, who agree on little else but the ability to extract bigger concessions through one-on-one talks. Bilateral deals are also a longtime focus of the president. ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"

American officials say that splitting the negotiations could help the United States take advantage of what could be a short and crucial window to negotiate with the current government of Mexico, which could be ousted in national elections in July, and replaced by a government that is less inclined to cut a deal with the Trump administration. ...華岳論壇 - "http://hua-yue.net"

However, both Mexico and Canada insist that the idea is a non-starter.
Mexican negotiators say they would not be willing to consider splitting the negotiations, a move they view as potentially damaging to North American supply chains and an unnecessary complication of a pact that many businesses rely on, according to people familiar with their thinking.

They add that they do not view Canada as their biggest problem in the talks. The three countries have remained at an impasse over significant provisions, including manufacturing rules for autos and an American proposal for a five-year sunset clause that would cause the deal to automatically expire unless the countries voted to renew it. ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"

The clock has essentially run out for the administration to secure a Nafta deal this year. The Trump administration had been trying to conclude Nafta talks by the end of May in order to submit the deal for a vote in the current Republican-controlled Congress. ...華岳論壇 - "http://hua-yue.net"

Given the statutory deadlines the administration must meet to get a trade deal approved, it now appears likely that any vote would drag into next year, after midterm elections that could shift the political makeup of Congress. ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"
Mr. Trump’s strategy in the negotiations with Canada and Mexico has drawn criticism from the business community as well as Democrats and Republicans.
A spokeswoman for Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said Tuesday that Mr. Brady opposed splitting the negotiations in two.

“A Nafta without both Canada and Mexico included is no longer a North American Free Trade Agreement,” the spokeswoman, Julia Slingsby, said. “Chairman Brady believes one free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico is best for America. It provides the most certainty for American companies and is the best way we can sell ‘Made in America’ products.” ...華岳論壇 - "http://hua-yue.net"

And a survey of chief executive officers released Tuesday morning by Business Roundtable showed that while executives have a positive view of the economy, they see the administration’s trade policy and the prospect of retaliation from other countries as an escalating risk to their businesses. ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"

Joshua Bolten, the president of Business Roundtable, said that uncertainties about trade policy were “a growing weight on economic progress — especially amid escalating trade tensions. America’s current and future economic vitality depends on productive talks with China and a successful modernization of Nafta.” ...華岳論壇 - "http://hua-yue.net"
Privately, some congressional Republicans expressed an openness to the administration negotiating some trade issues bilaterally with Mexico and with China. But they expressed little support for scrapping Nafta entirely and replacing it with separate deals.

“Now is the time to stay the course and work with our trading partners to find a path forward on an updated Nafta that will meet the high-standards of bipartisan TPA and gain the support of Congress,” Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, the chairman of the Finance Committee, said on Twitter. ...華岳論壇 - "http://washeng.net"