The White House is allowing Japan and South Korea to buy “substantially” more military equipment from the U.S., President Donald Trump said in a tweet Sept. 5. Trump has provided “conceptual approval” for the purchase of “many billions of dollars’ worth of military weapons and equipment” from the U.S. by South Korea, the White House said in a readout of a Sept. 4 call between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-In. A National Security Council spokeswoman said the “conceptual approval” means Congress would also have to sign off on the transaction before the equipment is exported. Days earlier, Trump threatened to cut off all U.S. trade with North Korea’s trading partners after that nation’s latest nuclear test in another tweet. "The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea," Trump said in the Sept. 3 tweet.

NAFTA talks probably will extend past the U.S.’s hoped-for deadline of Dec. 31, as major differences among the three parties involved start to emerge and the U.S. lacks political direction on several fundamental issues, trade analysts said Sept. 5. The U.S. during the second round of renegotiations Sept. 1-5 in Mexico City floated domestic content requirements for automobiles under NAFTA, but didn’t put forth a definitive threshold, a trade lobbyist said. U.S. negotiators have bandied about the possibility of a 35 percent to 50 percent requirement for U.S. automobile content, and are likely to go to the third round in Ottawa with a more specific proposal, the lobbyist said.

President Donald Trump on Aug. 30 again said the U.S. will “terminate” NAFTA if it can’t renegotiate it, according to a White House transcript of his tax reform speech in Springfield, Missouri. "Hopefully we can renegotiate it," he said. "But if we can't, we'll terminate it and we'll start all over again with a real deal." Trump repeatedly mentioned a potential withdrawal from NAFTA in recent weeks (see 1708280025 and 1708230036). Asked during a visit to Washington this week whether Mexico would continue renegotiating in the case that Trump -- as a negotiation tactic -- triggered NAFTA’s six-month process for U.S. withdrawal, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso said, “No,” according to an Aug. 30 Reuters article. During his visit to Washington, Videgaray agreed with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to “continue with a ‘serious’ renegotiation process,” Reuters reported him as saying. Trump also called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Aug. 31, and both "stressed their hope" to conclude negotiations by the end of 2017, the White House said. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Commerce Department didn’t comment. The second round of NAFTA renegotiations will take place in Mexico City Sept. 1-5.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was set to update President Donald Trump on NAFTA negotiations during a 20-minute meeting starting at 11 a.m. Aug. 30, according to a White House spokeswoman. A meeting with Lighthizer was listed on Trump’s schedule for Aug. 30. Trump recently said withdrawal from NAFTA may be necessary (see 1708280025). The second round of NAFTA renegotiations will take place in Mexico City Sept. 1-5.

President Donald Trump on Aug. 25 announced his intent to nominate Andrei Iancu to be under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Iancu is currently the managing partner of Irell and Manella law firm, focusing on IP law. He has appeared in front of the International Trade Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. district courts, and the PTO, the White House said.

President Donald Trump on Aug. 27 repeated his threat to pull the U.S. from NAFTA in a tweet, drawing pushback from the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We are in the NAFTA (worst trade deal ever made) renegotiation process with Mexico & Canada,” Trump tweeted. “Both being very difficult, may have to terminate?” In an Aug. 27 press release, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Mexico won’t negotiate NAFTA or any other bilateral matter with the U.S. “through social media or any other news platform.” The ministry added that Mexico is taking a “serious and constructive” approach to NAFTA renegotiations, “always putting our national interests first, and seeking a beneficial result whereby the three North American countries win.” The government of Canada didn’t comment. Trump also threatened to terminate NAFTA during an Aug. 22 rally in Phoenix (see 1708230036).

Thirty-one steel executives from 25 U.S. steel and steel-related companies urged President Donald Trump to take immediate and decisive action under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to curb “surging” steel imports. In a letter dated Aug. 23, executives said efforts to combat overcapacity through mechanisms like the G-20 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development haven’t worked. “Under your bold leadership, Mr. President, with your vision for ‘America First,’ this can and must change,” they wrote. “In June, steel imports hit their highest monthly total in more than two years by capturing 30% of the U.S. market. Immediate action must meaningfully adjust imports to restore healthy levels of capacity utilization and profitability to the domestic industry over a sustained period.”

President Donald Trump on Aug. 18 signed into law legislation that will make certain types of hearing aids available over the counter to Americans with mild or moderate hearing impairment, requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to determine whether the devices need a 510(k) premarket submission. The 510(k) submissions are required for companies that want to market an FDA Class I, II or III device not subject to a formal premarket approval, in order to demonstrate that products are safe and effective, and substantially equivalent to a legally marketed device. The language was included in the Food and Drug Administration Reauthorization Act, after Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced similar language last Congress that didn’t gain traction (see 1611080028).

The U.S. and Argentina agreed to terms to allow exports of U.S. pork to the South American country for the first time since 1992, President Donald Trump announced Aug. 17. Trump “first raised” the issue with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri during an April 27 meeting in Washington, the White House said. “Pending resolution of any outstanding technical issues,” the agreement will take effect after Argentine food safety officials visit the U.S. and conduct on-site verification of the U.S. meat inspection system, the White House said. Argentina has not allowed pork imports from the U.S. in about 25 years over food safety concerns. The agreement will allow all fresh, chilled and frozen pork and pork products to be exported. Exports could total up to $10 million per year, the White House said. The Trump administration “remains focused” on expanding trade of other agricultural products between the two nations, including beef, poultry and fruits, the White House said.

There is significant room for growth in the U.S.-Argentina trade relationship, particularly in agriculture, Vice President Mike Pence said Aug. 15 during a joint press conference in Buenos Aires with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri. Macri, President Donald Trump and other officials have spoken in the last week about expanding U.S. pork access in Argentina, Pence said. Macri and Pence also discussed lemon imports from Argentina and “the interest” in importing beef from and exporting beef to the country, Pence said. An Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service final rule allowing importation of lemons from northwest Argentina into the continental U.S. took effect May 26 (see 1705020038). “Our hope is that, with the energy that our administration and that President Macri’s administration are placing behind this, we may have a breakthrough soon that will expand the economic relationship between Argentina and the United States, particularly on agricultural goods,” Pence said.