Export Disputes Between the U.S. and Canada

In an attempt to show his desire for strict trade regulations, President Trump imposed tariffs on lumber exported from Canada to the United States.  He argued that, if NAFTA was working as well as it should, there shouldn’t be longstanding trade disputes about lumber and dairy products between these two countries.  In the article by The New York Times it was estimated that the United States buys 69% of Canada’s lumber exports. The article also states that the United States likely would not be able to produce enough lumber on its own. If the United States and Canada cannot come up with a deal, the Canadian lumber industry could face tariffs up to 24%. Read the full article here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/25/business/trump-trudeau-canada-trade-lumber-dairy.html?_r=0
- Lorreen McCabe

The relationship between NAFTA and Canada's water...

On February 29, 2016, Canada put into affect it's Water Sustainability Act. Prior to this act being enforced, more than 225,000 people petitioned that companies, such as Nestle, who utilize Canada's water resources be charged higher fees. Great idea, right? Well, this actually caused quite an issue because it could cause conflict with NAFTA by turning water into a commodity for sale. I tried to find more information regarding whether or not Canada charges more to companies for water usage, but was unable to find a definitive answer, however, it appears from just a simple Google search that this is an ongoing issue. 

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/more-on-nafta-and-water-partisanship-in-government-and-should-expats-be-able-to-vote-1.3163823/the-relationship-between-nafta-and-canadian-water-1.3164244

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-proposes-to-boost-water-bottler-fee-by-500-per-million-litres-taken/article33653753/

http://engage.gov.bc.ca/watersustainabilityact/act/

http://www.globalresearch.ca/canada-losing-water-through-nafta/6859 (older article, but interesting take on Canada's water and NAFTA)

- Nicole Dieterle

NAFTA's Strategic Plan on Pesticide Use

It is important for companies and organizations to have a strategic plan in which they analyze their environment, define goals and objectives, and develop strategies and plans.  In the next five years, NAFTA’s Technical Working Group has a goal to, “align the North American registration systems for pesticides and products treated with pesticides and make work- sharing a way of doing business.” To do this it must identify trade barriers and ways to promote the introduction of pest management tools. Its next objective is to encourage cooperation on reviews of pesticide use. Another objective they have to meet their goal is to, “work cooperatively on priority science and regulatory issues and practices including data requirements, science approaches and policies for data interpretation, and risk assessment and communications of regulatory decisions.”  NAFTA realizes that it must evolve its goals and strategic objectives as the regulatory nature of pesticides advance.  Read the full strategic plan here: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-01/documents/nafta-5yr-strategic-plan.pdf

-Lorreen McCabe

Free Trade Agreements - Australia and Germany

This week in class, we were asked if Germany or Australia would be a better fit for our hypothetical expanding business. Depending on the industry your business represents, either country could be a good fit. However, one factor that should be considered is trade agreements and how these agreements may affect your business. While the United States doesn't have any agreements specifically with Germany, there is currently a free trade agreement with the EU in negotiations (T-TIP). Australia already has a free trade agreement set in place (AUFTA). Below I have included links outlining both agreements. 

AUFTA   https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/australian-fta
T-TIP      https://ustr.gov/ttip

- Nicole 

Is NAFTA in the best interest of The United States?

A few weeks ago, we posted to inform you about President Trump’s views on NAFTA and how he believes it should be changed.  Today, I’d like to right about the pros and cons of NAFTA so viewers can form their own opinions. With NAFTA, trade between the three countries more than quadrupled, leading to lower prices on groceries and oil in the U.S. The U.S. also increased exports, especially in the form of services, benefitting the economy. NAFTA hurt the U.S. when manufacturers moved jobs to Mexico for lower labor costs. Although NAFTA did increase exports, it also increased U.S. trade deficit. Learn more about the advantages and disadvantages and how NAFTA compares to other trade agreements here: https://www.thebalance.com/facts-about-nafta-statistics-and-accomplishments-3306280

Lorreen McCabe

Trade law

Admittedly, this post is not going to discuss NAFTA or TPP directly. I've chosen this week to write a quick post about international trade law because it is an important aspect of NAFTA, TPP, or any trade agreement. The laws that surround trade are complex and ever changing. This ensures that the nations involved within the agreement will hopefully always receive fair representation. The laws are written and put in place by the government and each country has it's own set of laws/regulations. Below are links where you can find some of the rules and regulations for the U.S.

United States Court of International Trade
https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/AboutTheCourt.html

Subcommittee on Trade
https://waysandmeans.house.gov/subcommittee/trade/

International Consumer Protection
https://www.ftc.gov/policy/international/international-consumer-protection

- Nicole

Trade and Culture

Last week in our international business class, we discussed how culture and business relate to each other and how each affects the other. One area of particular interest to me, however, is how trade affects culture. Trade agreements have been around since humans first began trading goods, and these trade agreements undoubtedly changed these cultures in both positive and negative ways. On the positive side, it introduced new products into the culture and allowed money to be made. Negatively, it was the cause of conflict due to greed. Trade also can impact the same country differently throughout. Native cultures are often impacted differently than cultures and peoples who emigrated into the country or are born into the country through parents who traveled there. Though the article below was written in 2014, it gives the reader a peak into how NAFTA and, at the time, soon to be implemented TPP impact the native inhabitants of Mexico. 

http://lastrealindians.com/economic-colonialism-free-trade-the-obama-administration-the-trans-pacific-partnership-trade-deal-by-matt-remle/

- Nicole Dieterle

The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability is a critical component of international trade.  With pollution at its highest levels and natural resources dwindling, The Trans-Pacific Partnership must have standards to minimize the negative impact on the environment. This trade deal has the highest environmental standards of any trade deal ever. It has superior environmental rights, enforcement, and stiffer penalties for those who violate. The Trans-Pacific Partnership requires countries to maintain and enforce current environmental laws. It also requires protection for endangered species, has regulations that forbid buying from illegal fishing vessels, promotes conservation of marine animals, and prevents marine pollution. This trade agreement recognizes ozone depletion and eliminates tariffs on green products. More trade agreements should strive for the environmental standards like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.  To learn more about the environmental protections of this agreement or to see how it compares to other trade agreements click here: http://www.thirdway.org/memo/tpp-in-brief-environmental-standards

-Lorreen McCabe

In President Donald Trump’s short time in office, it has been evident that he believes NAFTA is not in the best interest of The United States. According to an article from Quartz, he argues that The United States is losing out, because work is being moved to countries that can produce products cheaper and for less labor costs.  In 2015, more than $235 billion in products were exported to Mexico. If the United States began charging a tariff on products Mexico exports to the United States, they legally could do the same. He is determined to renegotiate the agreement; however, it got off to a rough start when Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto cancelled his trip to Washington over a Twitter post by President Trump. He argued that changing NAFTA would help block illegal immigrants and proposed that Mexico pay for a wall to block them. Mexico is still willing to negotiate, but claims they will walk away if President Trump suggests that Mexico pay for the wall.  At this time, President Trump seems to be more concerned with Mexico and has not addressed Canada much. It will be interesting to see what happens with negotiations over the next several months between countries. Read the full article here: 

https://qz.com/893438/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nafta-as-donald-trump-prepares-to-renegotiate-it/

-Lorreen McCabe

Abandoning TPP...

There has been a lot of talk lately about President Trump's abandonment of TPP, and it has people around the world questioning what this means for global economies. Is the TPP really helping the American economy? Could a "better deal", as Mr. Trump's administration says, really be negotiated? Will the U.S. have difficulty renegotiating trade agreements due to mistrust from other countries? We can only speculate how this will affect the economy. The article below, written by Shin Jang-Sup, a professor at the National University of Singapore and former adviser to South Korea's finance minister, weighs in on some of these exact questions and gives us an insight to the pros and cons of our current administration's decision to abandon the TPP. 

http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-pros-and-cons-of-us-withdrawal-from-tpp

- Nicole

If you're looking for other interesting reads following the international business world, look no further than these blogs:

BRICS

http://bumgt260brics.blogspot.com/

Foreign Direct Investment - Wisconsin

http://internationalbusiness2017.blogspot.com/

Germany

http://ib260germany.blogspot.com/

Hanseatic Countries (Northern Europe and Baltic Sea)

http://northerneurope-balticsea.blogspot.com/

Random and other important international business related news

https://ib260bh.blogspot.com

Syria and the Middle East 

http://ehdw-intlbiz.blogspot.com/

United Kingdom     

http://unitedkingdomstout.blogspot.com/

- Nicole

Introductions

What is NAFTA? What is TPP? Why are they important to the United States economy and businesses? Hopefully, after visiting, you’ll be able to better answer these questions!

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a trade agreement negotiated (1994) between the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, while the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is an agreement negotiated between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Unites States (until January 2017), and Vietnam. Where NAFTA fails, the TPP thrives. Below is a short article written by former president, Barack Obama, outlining just this.

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-major-differences-between-NAFTA-and-TPP

Still have questions about NAFTA or TPP? Please visit these two sites for more information and continue to check back to the blog for more updates!

https://ustr.gov/tpp/
https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north-american-free-trade-agreement-nafta

- Chloe, Lorreen, and Nicole