In my mind, the deal between Mexico and the US should HELP the US and Canadian auto sectors I would think. And I would imagine that some percentage of auto components currently sourced from China will in the future be sourced from Mexico.
Possible. Also possible that by acting in a caustic confrontational way that Americans are turning Canadians off and encouraging many of them to take steps like buy Asian cars instead of ones built under the banner of the big 3 US auto companies. In my opinion, this is not how you treat a partner that helped bail out GM and Chrysler when the US faced a financial crisis. Even if you decide that Canada is too "small" to impact on your economy ( experts and the trade numbers suggest otherwise ), Trump and his hand picked team are also attacking his supposed partners in Europe and China as well. Mexico seems limited in terms of what it can do at this time in the sectors that matter most moving forward. All Canada has done is say we won't take a bad deal and stood firm on several key aspects of trade. It's a reasonable stance. Trump isn't reasonable. Given time, either the US will water down or block some of Trump's worst ideas, or implement them and take some hits that forces them to reconsider some portion of what occurred. It's not unlike where your health care plans sit right now; people can bs all they want about whose fault it is, but it's really the American people's fault fostered over many years of bad choices. I personally think Canada should just walk away and let shit hit the fan as it may. Of course, I am positioned well for the new economies whereas some autoworker in Oshawa or Detroit/Windsor may think otherwise.
That these seat of the pants deals will pan out to offer any significant advantage over the status quo is unclear. What is clear is that they are a necessary component of Trump's constant need to be in the news, even if it requires creating a little temporary chaos. We don't know who actually dreams the specifics of these deals up. We do know that Trump is incapable of it, as his dementia, evidenced by his incoherent tweets and utterances, worsens. He must be in the news constantly. According to him, everything is due to his genius and is the "best ever." He sells the screw-ups and the everyday events all with the same bravado. Anything that's so bad he can't cover it with lies will be someone else's fault. In reality, everything good is almost certainly due to someone else, and everything bad is almost certainly because no one with any sense could stop him. It is so sad to see him at the top of an otherwise great nation.
If, as has been reported by the Mexican Trade Representatives, that Mexico made considerable environmental and worker pay increase concessions that will improve the lives of Mexicans; and that the framework allows for more US origin auto content and assembly - are you saying that Congress should reject such an improvement just because it came from the Trump administration? Are Dems prepared to permanently slit their throats with Rust Belt State voters?
No, not at all. I'm saying that everything Trump does, or says he does, must be looked at with a jaundiced eye! The concessions being reported are going in exactly the direction that is needed to level the trade table and improve the lives of Mexican workers. But do you think for one moment Trump was concerned about improving the lives of Mexican workers? I'd venture to say that if he new the trade pact was good for Mexico and Mexicans he'd be against it. He doesn't really know the details of what's in it or their impact. He knows only that it affords him a chance to grandstand and draw attention to himself. He is a sick man.