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The fallout is a rare chink in Lopez Obrador's formidable popularity, steadily above 60% throughout his term. The pricing issue is urgent as northern corn farmers are harvesting now, many with nowhere to sell without taking a loss. It is not the first time that tensions have heated up between this administration and the agriculture sector. Valdez estimated that commercial agriculture producers represent about 10 million votes. Farmers argue Lopez Obrador's government has eliminated important sector benefits, including loans at beneficial interest rates, which his administration says too often fell into arrears.

Persons: Edgard Garrido, Andres Manuel Lopez, Lopez, Lopez Obrador's, Bosco, la Vega, Lopez Obrador, Claudia Sheinbaum, Marcelo Ebrard, Adan Augusto, Baltazar Valdez, Valdez, Raul Urteaga, Urteaga, spokespeople, Luz Maria Mendoza, Cassandra Garrison, Stephen Eisenhammer, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, U.S, Regeneration, Producers, Chicago Board of Trade, CNA, Farmers, North American Free Trade, United Farm Workers, Valdez, Global Agrotrade Advisors, Agriculture, Finance Ministry, FIRA, Thomson Locations: La Constitucion Totoltepec, Toluca , Mexico, MEXICO, Sinaloa, United States, U.S, Chihuahua, Mexico, Canada

☆ Thousands of union contracts to dissolve in Mexico's fight against pro-company deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Daina Beth Solomon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mexico committed to eliminating these so-called "protection contracts" under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade pact that replaced the 1994 NAFTA. "This is historic, because we finally managed to rid the labor market of pretend contracts and fake unions," Labor Minister Alcalde said in an interview. Since the vote process began four years ago, workers have cast ballots on some 20,000 contracts in sectors spanning autos, retail and mining. The Independent Mexico Labor Expert Board, a U.S. advisory committee, said in March the small number of rejected contracts "raises serious doubts about the credibility" of the process. Alcalde said she expects unions to aim to establish new contracts in place of ones that were canceled.

☆ 33 Democrats urge ban on investor-state dispute provisions in all US trade deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-RhoadesWASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday urged the U.S. Trade Representative and State Department to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement provisions from current and future trade deals and to intervene on behalf of Honduras against a U.S. company's nearly $11 billion claim against the country. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Trade Representative Katherine Tai seen by Reuters, 33 lawmakers said that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems in trade deals constitute a "problematic corporate handout" that violates countries' sovereignty and democracy rights. The Democrats signing the letter said the case could require impoverished Honduras to pay billions of taxpayer dollars to a company that has "weaponized" the dispute settlement provisions. The dispute settlement provisions had been a way to protect U.S. firms from abrupt changes in trading partners' government policies by providing recourse through arbitration. The letter cited Georgetown University research tallying $27.8 billion in ISDS settlement orders against Latin American governments, with Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico and Ecuador the worst hit.

☆ Trump boasted that he 'got rid of NATO' while president during a Fox News interview. (He meant NAFTA.)
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Trump said he had gotten the US out of NATO as president, but meant NAFTA. Trump has repeatedly questioned US membership of NATO, but did not act on threats to withdraw. Trump, who is seeking election again in 2024, boasted about his achievements as president in an interview Tuesday with Fox News' Sean Hannity. Trump as president repeatedly criticised NATO, berating other members for not spending more on defense, and threatened to pull out of the treaty. Trump, since launching his 2024 bid, has sought to portray his likely opponent, President Joe Biden, as in cognitive decline.

☆ Conservatives scoff at Trump's 'leftist plan' to build 10 new American cities featuring flying cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Trump recently announced a plan to build up to 10 new American cities on federal land. But some right-wing critics have attacked it as a "leftist plan" to create walkable "15-minute cities." Fox News left its in-house comedian, Greg Gutfeld, to handle the coverage of Freedom Cities. A conservative member of the UK parliament recently called 15-minute cities an "international socialist concept" that "would take away your personal freedoms." But Freedom Cities don't sound like 15-minute cities at all.

☆ Paul Ryan Says Even MAGA Diehards Believe Trump Can’t Win in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +23 min

Photo illustration by Bráulio Amado Talk Paul Ryan Says Even MAGA Diehards Believe Trump Can’t Win in 2024For a good long time during the George W. Bush and Obama presidencies, Paul Ryan was considered one of the intellectual leaders and shining stars of the Republican Party. Get out of this race.” But I don’t think Trump is going to get the nomination. I don’t think we want the lack of liberty that comes with government-made equality. Where I part company with the left is I don’t believe in socialism. I don’t believe in equality of outcomes.

☆ The US, China spy balloon tensions are drifting into politics of the supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. The tensions between the U.S. and China over alleged spy balloons shot down over North America have some of the top trade associations representing companies reliant on Chinese manufacturing to urge their members to diversify their supply chains. "The ongoing tensions with the U.S.-China trade relationship continue to highlight the need for supply chain diversification," said Jon Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy of the National Retail Federation. Mark Baxa, president and CEO of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, told CNBC that the trade group's members have been pursuing redundancies in their supply chain since the start of tariffs as a way to offset the risk of ongoing trade policy tensions. "Supply chain leaders are seeking lower risk and a better means to serve the U.S. by looking and moving to Canada and Mexico.

☆ I'm a lawyer who's helping laid-off Amazon and Facebook employees deal with visa issues. Here's how I advocate for them.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Taayoo Murray | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

She says laid-off visa holders can consider a self-employed visa if they want to start a business. Initially I didn't want to practice immigration law, thinking that because I'm an empath it would pull at my heartstrings all the time. I've helped many entrepreneurs, business owners, and startup founders successfully obtain an H-1B visa with their own company as their sponsor. L-1 visa holders don't have the same option as H-1B visa holders to transfer their visas to another company. That's my new mission: using my voice as an immigration lawyer to push for tangible and immediate change.

☆ Costa Rica seeks entry to North America trade pact
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAN JOSE, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Costa Rica has told the United States it is interested in joining the North American trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada, President Rodrigo Chaves said on Wednesday. Dodd said he had spoken with Chaves about opportunities to boost economic ties, but made no comment on a possible entry for Costa Rica into the North American trade pact. "We are evaluating opportunities," said Tovar, adding membership in the trade pact would give Costa Rica an "immense advantage" and add another strategic link to global supply chains. The United States is Costa Rica's largest trading partner, according to the U.S. State Department, accounting for 38% of Costa Rica's imports and 42% of exports. The Central American country has 10 bilateral and five multilateral trade agreements in force.

☆ Decision on North American auto rules dispute 'imminent', Canada says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, Nov 25 (Reuters) - A decision should be made very soon on a dispute pitting Canada and Mexico against the United States on the interpretation of regional trade rules in the auto industry, Canada Minister of International Trade Mary Ng said on Friday. Canada this year joined Mexico in a complaint against the United States over how to apply automotive sector content requirements under the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement, which came into effect in 2020. Mexico and Canada favor a more flexible interpretation of the rules than Washington, and Mexico said in August that dispute panel hearings were beginning. Those disagreements have led to a separate energy dispute under USMCA that pits Ottawa and Washington against Mexico. Ng this week said Canada had begun exploratory discussions with Ecuador over a potential free trade agreement.

☆ India, Mexico and Southeast Asia will benefit from 'the great diversification,' Australia's Kevin Rudd says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Su-Lin Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former Prime Minister to the Commonwealth of Australia and President of the Asia Society Policy Institute Kevin RuddFor businesses seeking diversification into new markets — especially given the geopolitical risks surrounding China — India, southeast Asia and Mexico are top contenders, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Sunday. "One is Southeast Asia, where we are now, the second is India ... And certainly from the North American perspective, it's Mexico, obviously benefiting from the Nafta, or the Nafta-plus economic arrangements." "As someone who's dealt with India for the last 20 years, for the first time, I became convinced that they are about to attempt a significant policy shift," Rudd told the conference. "If they can pull that off, it can turn India into the next China in terms of a large scale consumer market, and also a reliable, global factory," he added. India, in particular, could potentially provide exporters not just with opportunities to diversify supply chains, but also new end-markets.

☆ One factory worker takes on Mexico's powerful unions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Daina Beth Solomon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

CTM representatives say their unions defend worker rights, offer perks such as scholarships and sports programs and abide by Mexico's new labor rules. Along with La Liga, other new unions have also won victories over powerful rivals in the past year at GM, Japan's Panasonic (6752.T) and French glassmaker Saint-Gobain (SGOB.PA), pledging better pay. Even among the new crop, La Liga stands out for its broader vision: targeting companies no matter the sector, no matter the location. Leaving her three kids at home, she is traveling factory to factory seeking support. What's more, to drum up support, La Liga must fight a deeply embedded culture of fear and apathy around speaking out.

☆ Mexican union calls for U.S. probe into alleged labor abuses at Panasonic plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-18 | by ( Daina Beth Solomon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"They were given a contract they didn't even know about," Moreno said of the Panasonic deal with rival union SIAMARM. The dispute at Panasonic grew out of a vote last year in which workers rejected their union contract. Labor authorities then scheduled a vote April 21-22 for workers to choose between two other unions vying to take over the contract - SNITIS and SIAMARM. However, SNITIS says Panasonic signed a contract with SIAMARM ahead of the April election and began to withhold union dues from worker paychecks. SIAMARM, part of one of Mexico's biggest labor groups, the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), could not be reached for comment.

☆ Samsung ar putea construi în SUA o uzină de producere a bateriilor destinate automobilelor electrice
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-08 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +2 min

Grupul sud-coreean Samsung SDI Co Ltd ar putea construi în SUA o uzină care produce baterii destinate automobilelor electrice, pentru a sprijini trecerea industriei la electrificare, relatează economica.net. Acestea au precizat că Samsung SDI nu a decis încă dacă va demara construcţia fabricii din SUA ca o societate mixtă cu producătorii auto sau va fi o unitate de producţie independentă. Samsung SDI are uzine care produc baterii pentru automobilele electrice în Coreea de Sud, China şi Ungaria, pentru clienţi ca BMW, Ford, Volvo şi Volkswagen. Rivalele Samsung SDI din Coreea de Sud, LG Energy Solution şi SK Innovation Co Ltd, au anunţat separat planuri de produce de baterii în SUA. În aprilie, Rivian informa că Samsung SDI va furniza baterii pentru vehiculele sale.

Organizations: coreean Samsung SDI, Samsung, Samsung Electronics Co, Ford, Samsung SDI, clienţii, BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen, Rivalele Samsung, LG Energy, SK Innovation Co Locations: coreean, SUA, Stellantis, Amazon, Statele Unite, Mexic, Canada, american, America de Nord, Coreea de Sud, China, Ungaria, Europa

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