Mexico hopes early USMCA review will give investors, consumers clarity
By Natalia Siniawski
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico hopes to start a review of its trilateral trade agreement with the U.S. and Canada in the second half of this year, ahead of schedule, to provide clarity to consumers and investors, the nation's economy minister said on Tuesday.
"We estimate that we'll start discussions in the second half of the year," Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard told journalists on the sidelines of a ministry event with local fintechs.
"We hope they'll happen as soon as possible and that we can reach an agreement soon," he added.
The USMCA trade pact is up for review next year. U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for the agreement to be renegotiated ahead of time.
Ebrard said that the early review could make trade policies between the three nations "easier and clearer" for both consumers and investors.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Morning Bid: Oil pops, dollar drops
By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) -What matters in U.S. and global markets today I'm excited to announce that I'm now part of Reuters Open Interest (ROI), an essential new source for data-driven, expert commentary on market and economic trends. You can find ROI on the Reuters website, and you can follow us on LinkedIn and X. Intro Not for the first time this year, markets are being hit by multiple crosscurrents. Today it's an oil price surge driven by Middle East tensions alongside surprisingly benign U.S. inflation readings. I discuss this and the rest of today's market news below. In today's column, I explore a surprising twist in the global dollar debate that could reshape how investors think about currency risk. I'll be off tomorrow so Morning Bid will take a day's holiday, but back to regular programming on Monday. Today's Market Minute * U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place", adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. * U.S. consumer prices increased less than expected in May as cheaper gasoline partially offset higher rents, but inflation is expected to accelerate in the coming months on the back of the Trump administration's import tariffs. *An Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, the airline and police said, and India's federal health minister said that "many people" were killed. * U.S. trade negotiations have transitioned from their tumultuous opening act into a new chapter: the Slow Grind. It may be less turbulent than this past spring's drama, but no less worrying for investors. Oil pops, dollar drops With investors trying to read the runes of this week's 'framework' trade agreement between the U.S. and China on Wednesday, worries surfaced about the state of play in the Middle East after the U.S. announced that it was moving personnel out of the region ahead of talks with Iran over the latter's nuclear-related activity. Crude oil prices promptly jumped 4% and hit their highest in two months before giving up some of those gains earlier today. European travel stocks and auto makers fell more than 2% on Thursday on the jitters. Gold, however, was only marginally higher, and the dollar fell. While no specific reason was given for the U.S. personnel orders, the U.N. nuclear watchdog passed a resolution on Thursday formally declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years. Concern about Israeli threats to Iran's nuclear facilities inevitably ramped up. The prospect of higher energy prices at a time of tariff-related inflation concerns will certainly rankle. But so far at least, the Trump administration's import levies aren't putting much upward pressure on U.S. consumer prices, as May CPI came in below forecasts on Wednesday. Core annual producer price readings due out later today are expected to be steady. Despite this week's crude gains, year-on-year oil prices are still down more than 10%. And two-year U.S. 'breakeven' inflation rates in the inflation-protected Treasury market fell to their lowest of the year at 2.44%. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields fell on a mix of soft inflation and robust demand at the 10-year auction on Wednesday. Some $22 billion of 30-year bonds are up for grabs later today, testing the recently shaky demand for long-duration debt. Federal Reserve expectations haven't shifted greatly, with two quarter-point interest rate cuts still priced by yearend. No move is expected before September, even though President Donald Trump once again called for an immediate full percentage point rate cut after the CPI report. The dollar remains under pressure however, raising more concern about the absence of its traditional 'safe haven' role at a time of rising geopolitical tensions. The dollar index fell to its lowest level since April, with the euro surging above $1.15 to within a whisker of its best levels since 2021. Sterling was a standout loser against the euro, falling to its weakest against the single currency in a month after a surprisingly sharp drop in April UK GDP. Stocks were slightly shaken by the whole picture, with the S&P500 ending in the red on the Middle East news on Wednesday and futures down almost half a percentage point ahead of Thursday's open. Chinese, Japanese and European bourses were all in the red on Thursday. Only South Korea's Kospi bucked the trend. The wider trade war picture remained uncertain despite the U.S.-China progress, with details still patchy as the negotiated deal in London awaited final approval. Trump on Wednesday said he was very happy with the trade deal, as it restored a fragile truce between the two biggest economies, claiming China agreed to free up rare earth supplies in exchange for the U.S. allowing Chinese students to attend U.S. colleges. But he also insisted: "We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%." White House officials said the 55% represents the sum of a baseline 10% "reciprocal" tariff Trump has imposed on goods imported from nearly all U.S. trading partners, the 20% fentanyl-related tariffs, and pre-existing 25% levies on imports from China that were put in place during Trump's first term. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the 55% rate on Chinese imports is fixed and unalterable. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the deal would not reduce U.S. export restrictions on high-end artificial intelligence chips. China on Thursday affirmed the trade deal, and a foreign ministry spokesperson said: "Now that a consensus has been reached, both sides should abide by it." But with less than four weeks to go before the expiration of the 90-day pause on U.S. tariffs worldwide, markets remain concerned about what will happen next month. Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to extend a July 8 deadline for completing trade talks, but also said he did not believe that would be necessary, noting: "At a certain point, we're just going to send letters out ... saying, 'This is the deal. You can take it, or you can leave it.'" European Union talks, in particular, look unlikely to be concluded by then. Elsewhere, Boeing shares fell 6% pre-market after news that an Air India plane headed to London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad. Be sure to check out today's column, which looks at the weakening dollar and the debate about whether its decline is being driven by flight from U.S. assets at large or simply foreign investors hedging their dollar exposure. Chart of the day The UK may be seeing the downsides of publishing noisy monthly GDP readouts as opposed to quarterly updates. The April GDP report threw cold water on a relatively robust start to the year for the UK economy, showing a surprising 0.3% contraction during the month. However, it remains very unclear how much of the April loss will be durable through the second quarter. Either way, the data will put pressure on the Bank of England to step up monetary easing. Consequently, both sterling and UK government bond yields fell back after the GDP release. Today's events to watch * U.S. May producer price report (8:30 AM EDT), weekly jobless claims (8:30 AM EDT) * Federal Reserve issues Quarterly Financial Accounts of the United States (11:00 AM EDT) * U.S. Treasury auctions $22 billion of 30-year bonds * European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos and ECB board member Isabel Schnabel both speak in Brussels * U.S. corporate earnings: Adobe Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. (By Mike Dolan; Editing by Anna Szymanski and Gareth Jones) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
This Video Of Donald Trump Being Booed At The Kennedy Center Is Going Super Viral
Donald Trump showed up for a performance of "Les Misérables" at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday night. In case you're unfamiliar, since being in office, Trump fired the Kennedy Center's director and board, replaced them with his own supporters, and made himself chair. He now has significant control over the center's leadership and decisions. Let's just say, some people in the audience weren't thrilled about his attendance. Related: Here Are 16 Actors Who Saved Their Skin By Turning Down Roles In Movies That People Notoriously Hated A video from Reuters reporter Jeff Mason where you can clearly hear booing is going viral: jeffmason1/Twitter: @jeffmason1 To be fair, you can also hear a chant of "U-S-A" breakout. Related: 18 Celebrities Who Called Out Other Celebs On Social Media For Bad, Problematic, Or Just Plain Mean Behavior Still, people had a lot ot say about this video. It's all over the timeline. One person commented, "It has to feel so good to partake in a mass booing." Another person tweeted, "Yikes that sounded awkward." And this person joked, "I actually relate to Trump a lot on this. We are both desperate to be annoying theater kids but completely lack talent." Personally, not enough people are talking about the guy who simply decided to turn the other way. Oh, and last thing, a bunch of people pointed out the irony of Trump watching Les Mis. For those who don't know, a big theme of Les Mis is standing up to injustice. Also in Celebrity: 17 Actors Who Said "No" To Nudity And Sex Scenes Out Of Respect For Their Partners, Families, Religion, And More Also in Celebrity: Chrissy Teigen Posted The Results Of Her Hairline Lowering Surgery, And Ouch Also in Celebrity: Here's Why People Are Raising Their Eyebrows Over Chris Pratt's Post About The Fatal Shooting Of His 'Parks And Recreation' Costar Jonathan Joss
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Marines prepare for Los Angeles deployment as protests spread across US
By Brad Brooks LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -California will face off with Washington in court on Thursday over President Donald Trump's deployment of U.S. troops in Los Angeles after demonstrators again took to the streets in major cities to protest Trump's immigration crackdown. Some 700 U.S. Marines will be on the streets of Los Angeles by Thursday or Friday, the military said, to support up to 4,000 National Guard troops in protecting federal property and federal agents, including on immigration raids. Trump's decision to dispatch troops to Los Angeles over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom has sparked a national debate about the use of the military on U.S. soil and further polarized the country. Street protests have broken out in multiple cities besides Los Angeles including New York, Chicago, Washington and San Antonio, Texas. A federal judge in San Francisco will hear arguments Thursday as part of California's lawsuit against Trump. The state is requesting a temporary restraining order to block the troops' participation in law enforcement activities. California ultimately wants a court ruling that returns its National Guard to the state's control and declares that Trump's action was illegal. The L.A. protests broke out last Friday in response to a series of immigration raids. Trump in turn called in the National Guard on Saturday, then summoned the Marines on Monday. "If I didn't act quickly on that, Los Angeles would be burning to the ground right now," said Trump at an event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. State and local leaders dispute that, saying Trump has only escalated tensions with an unnecessary deployment of federal troops, while Democrats nationally have condemned his action as authoritarian. Trump is carrying out a campaign promise to deport immigrants, employing forceful tactics consistent with the norm-breaking political style that got him elected twice. Los Angeles on Wednesday endured a sixth day of protests that have been largely peaceful but occasionally punctuated by violence, mostly contained to a few blocks. In downtown L.A., shortly before the second night of a curfew over a one square mile (2.5 square km) area on Wednesday night, police said demonstrators at one location threw commercial-grade fireworks and rocks at officers. Another group of nearly 1,000 demonstrators was peacefully marching through downtown when police suddenly opened fire with less lethal munitions in front of City Hall. Marlene Lopez, 39, a Los Angeles native, was demonstrating as flash bangs exploded just a few meters away. "I am out here because of the fact that our human rights are being violated every day. If we give up, it's over. We have to stand our ground here in L.A. so that the nation will follow us," Lopez said. An undetermined number of arrests were made, in addition to some 400 over the previous days. New York police said an unknown number of people had been taken into custody on Wednesday after saying on Tuesday that 86 had been taken into custody, of which 34 were arrested and charged, while the others received a criminal court summons. The protests are set to expand on Saturday, when several activist groups have planned more than 1,800 anti-Trump demonstrations across the country. That day, tanks and other armored vehicles will rumble down the streets of Washington, D.C., in a military parade marking the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday. MARINES TRAINED FOR CROWD CONTROL U.S. Marines will join National Guard troops on the streets of Los Angeles within 48 hours, officials said on Wednesday, and would be authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration officers on raids or protesters who confront federal agents. A battalion of 700 Marines had concluded training specific to the L.A. mission, including de-escalation and crowd control, the U.S. Northern Command said in a statement. The Marines would join the National Guard under the authority of a federal law known as Title 10, not to conduct civilian policing but to protect federal officers and property, the military said. "Title 10 forces may temporarily detain an individual in specific circumstances such as to stop an assault, to prevent harm to others, or to prevent interference with federal personnel performing their duties," the Northern Command said. U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, who commands the task force of Marines and Guardsmen, told reporters the Marines will not load their rifles with live ammunition, but they will carry live rounds.
