Renegotiated NAFTA between US, Mexico raises more questions than answers, trade law expert says


LAWRENCE — President Donald Trump announced Monday that the United States had reached an agreement with Mexico to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement. He added that Canada could be left out of the new agreement in which the two nations will revise several key elements of the original pact. Calling it the “United States-Mexico Trade Agreement,” Trump said it would be finalized in a matter of days.

International trade law expert Raj Bhala is available to discuss the new deal with media. Any new agreement will have wide-ranging implications for all three nations, regardless of the terms and if all three countries are part of it. Bhala, Brenneisen Distinguished Professor at the KU School of Law, said Monday's announcement raises more questions than it answers.

“The tentative bilateral U.S.-Mexican agreement on NAFTA raises important questions about not only rules of origin, but also about the sunset clause, dispute resolution and intellectual property protection,” Bhala said. “It’s not clear whether Canada will accept the changes the U.S. and Mexico have made. And it’s also interesting to note that these changes have been made to benefit workers. It’s also not clear whether the legislatures in the three NAFTA countries will be able to approve any renegotiated deal before the end of the year and important to note the entire topic of NAFTA renegotiation is hugely important with the upcoming election in the United States.”

Bhala, who has worked in more than 25 countries around the world, including Mexico and Canada, can discuss NAFTA, its provisions, the deal’s history, the renegotiated deal, the influence of all three nations in the agreement, international trade, law surrounding the deal, political ramifications of the deal, what a new agreement would mean for the United States and related topics.

Bhala has authored dozens of articles and books on international trade law and free trade agreements, including “TPP Objectively: Law, Economics, and National Security of History’s Largest, Longest Free Trade Agreement,” “Understanding Islamic Law (Shari’a)” and textbook “International Trade Law,” an acclaimed two-volume treatise. He practiced international banking law at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York before entering academia and has lectured around the globe.

To schedule an interview, contact Mike Krings at 785-864-8860 or mkrings@ku.edu.

Tue, 08/28/2018

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Mike Krings

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