‘Final’ details unresolved in US-Canada trade talks

US and Canadian negotiators pushed ahead in grinding talks to rescue the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) on Thursday, but a few stubborn issues stood in the way of a deal, including dairy quotas, protection for Canadian media companies, and how to resolve future trade disputes.

A US source familiar with the discussions in Washington said it was still unclear whether the two sides could bridge the gaps or whether President Donald Trump will opt for a Mexico-only bilateral trade deal.

“We are down to three issues: Chapter 19, the cultural issues and dairy. We have created leverage and driven Canada to the table,” the source said. “Part of our problem is that Canada has been backsliding on its commitments [on dairy].”

Nafta’s chapter 19 governs how disputes are resolved.

Mr Trump has set a deadline for a deal this week, prompting aides to US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to find ways to move forward.

Bloomberg News cited a Canadian government official as saying that a deal was not expected to be reached this week.

“We are making good progress,” Ms Freeland told reporters following a short meeting with Lighthizer at the USTR offices on Thursday evening.

She repeated her earlier statements that the day’s discussions were “constructive and productive” amid an atmosphere of “goodwill on both sides.” However, she declined to discuss specific issues under negotiation.

The Republican chairman of the US House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, Kevin Brady, a powerful voice in Congress on trade, said that differences remained between the two sides over Canada’s dairy quota regime, a trade dispute resolution settlement procedure and other longstanding issues.

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Trade tensions present opportunities as well as challenges

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The Trump administration charges that Canada discriminates against US dairy exports. It also wants to end the Chapter 19 arbitration panels for resolving disputes over anti-dumping tariffs, something Canada has used to defend its lumber exports to the US.

“They are continuing to push towards a conclusion of that agreement. A lot depends on the seriousness of Canada in resolving these final disputes,” Mr Brady told reporters. “My sense is that everyone is at the table with the intention of working these last, always difficult issues out.”

The third unresolved issue is Canada’s insistence that previous Nafta cultural exemptions protecting its publishing and media companies from being acquired by American companies be preserved.

Mr Lighthizer has referred to the exemptions as “cultural protectionism” as Canadian companies are free to buy US media outlets.

Trump has threatened to push ahead with a bilateral deal with Mexico, effectively killing the three-country Nafta pact, which covers $1.2 trillion in trade.

The US and Mexico reached an agreement on overhauling Nafta at the beginning of last week, turning up the pressure on Canada to agree to new terms.

Mr Trump said on Wednesday that he expected it to be clear whether there would be a deal to include Canada in a few days. He has claimed that the 1994 Nafta pact has caused the loss of hundreds of thousands of US jobs, something that most economists dispute.

Data released on Wednesday showed the US trade deficit hit a five-month high of $50 billion. The shortfall with Canada shot up 57.6 per cent.

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Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
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The rules on fostering in the UAE

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A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially

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January 24 – First T20, Lahore

January 25 – Second T20, Lahore

January 27 – Third T20, Lahore

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April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi

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Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

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Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”