As the U.S. doubles down on trade protectionism, it risks weakening the global trade system and harming the American businesses, workers and consumers it aims to protect.
By refusing to go along with an increased consumer subsidy fully available only for EVs and batteries produced in the U.S. with union labor, Sen. Manchin (perhaps with the assistance of Canada's government) has saved the U.S. government from what could have been a mortal blow to an integrated North American industry.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s investment policies, which aim to return Mexico to the protectionist, state-led policies of the 1960s and 1970s, seem almost certain to stagnate the country’s economy.
Whereas the process for Canada, Mexico and the U.S. to resolve disputes under NAFTA proved highly ineffective, the equivalent procedures under the USMCA are working very well, explains David Gantz. Read his post on the Baker Institute Blog.
By subsidizing only electric vehicles and EV batteries produced by union labor in the U.S., the auto industry could face trouble in valuable trade partnerships with Canada and Mexico, writes fellow David Gantz.
China’s request for membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, from which the U.S. withdrew in 2017, creates diplomatic challenges for the U.S. as well as foreign policy hurdles for current CPTPP members, the authors write.
David A. Gantz, Jorge Huerta-GoldmanOctober 5, 2021
Mexico’s government and auto industry have good reason to be worried about the future. International trade fellow David Gantz explains why in the Baker Institute Blog.