The U.S. auto industry said Canada and Mexico have never manipulated their currencies but that that shouldn’t prevent the U.S. from adding language to the North American Free Trade Agreement prohibiting them from doing it anyway. Automakers want it included as a warning to non-NAFTA countries.
“While neither Canada nor Mexico have manipulated their currencies, including strong and enforceable currency manipulation disciplines in NAFTA would set an important precedent and establish a platform for collaboration in opposition to other countries that use currency manipulation,” the American Automotive Policy Council said in a filing Monday with the U.S Trade Representative’s Office. The group’s members include General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler.
Other groups also are calling for anti-manipulation provisions to be added to NAFTA as the Trump administration renegotiates the free-trade deal with Canada and Mexico. Like the automakers, they see the NAFTA renegotiations as a good opportunity to lay down standards for potential trade deals with European and Asian countries. Not all agree that no NAFTA country has ever manipluated its currency, though. “Shortly after NAFTA entered into force, Mexico engaged in a predictable devaluation that virtually eliminated the potential benefit from tariff cuts envisioned by the agreement,” said the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, in its submission to the trade representative.
Monday was the deadline to file comments for the trade deal’s renegotiations, which are expected to begin in August.
