NAFTA ‘nervousness’ dominated a Senate confirmation hearing for two Trump Deputy U.S. Trade Representative nominees, as concerns about a possible North American Free Trade Agreement pull-out continued to surface.
Senate Ag Chair Pat Roberts told fellow Kansan C.J. Mahoney, tapped by the president to be a Deputy U.S. Trade Representative with a portfolio including NAFTA talks, that it’s the wrong time to give up on NAFTA.
But Roberts at a Senate Finance hearing on the nominees, told Mahoney and fellow USTR nominee to the World Trade Organization. Dennis Shea, that, as far as a US NAFTA pull-out.
Mahoney responds.
Mahoney, who has ties to agriculture in his hometown of Russell, Kansas, agreed with top Senate Ag Democrat Debbie Stabenow that NAFTA talks should be extended past their March deadline, if needed.
President Trump last week suggested in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that it might be a good idea to continue the NAFTA talks after Mexico’s July elections, that Trump said are making the talks harder.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.