· OPEC finalized an agreement on Wednesday to cut its overall production by 1.2 million barrels a day. Oil prices surged nearly 9% as a result. Nearly 2,000 mechanics in the Chicago area have been on strike since Tuesday over work hours. Letters allegedly sent by more than one dealership informed employees of. · But he soon tore into NAFTA, Trump-style. "For countless Americans, this agreement has failed," Lighthizer said. "We cannot ignore the huge trade deficits.

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Day 1 of NAFTA talks: 'This agreement has failed' Leaders from the U. S., Canada and Mexico on Wednesday officially began renegotiating NAFTA, the three- nation trade pact, in Washington. Mexican and Canadian leaders started a press conference on a positive note, touting the advantages of NAFTA and saying the new agreement must work for all three nations. Watch Bug Buster Putlocker there. Then, U. S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spoke. He noted that NAFTA has benefited many Americans, such as farmers, and said the U. S., Canada and Mexico have a strong friendship.

Related: Renegotiating NAFTA - - in 1. But he soon tore into NAFTA, Trump- style. For countless Americans, this agreement has failed," Lighthizer said. We cannot ignore the huge trade deficits, the lost manufacturing jobs, the businesses that have closed or moved because of incentives, intended or not, in the current agreement." Lighthizer said at least 7. American jobs have been lost due to NAFTA. He added "many people believe the number is much, much bigger than that." The stakes of renegotiation are high. Millions of jobs and thousands of companies rely on NAFTA.

American consumers benefit immensely from free trade while factory workers say they've gotten the short end of the deal, with their jobs outsourced to Mexico. The threat facing the pact is real, too. Trump says if the U. S. can't get a better deal, he'll withdraw from NAFTA.

He's also threatened to slap tariffs on Mexico, and he's already slapped some on Canada. They have in turn cautioned that they'll retaliate against any U. S. tariffs. Related: Trump's NAFTA could be a big win for Amazon Mexican and Canadian leaders framed their desires around "modernizing" NAFTA to reflect more of today's global economy, including guidelines for e- commerce, which isn't included in the 2. The issue is not tearing apart what works, but rather making our agreement work better," Mexico's economy secretary Ildefonso Guajardo said on Wednesday. We want to protect NAFTA's record of job creation and economic growth," Canada's foreign minister Chrystia Freeland said. Freeland also delivered remarks in Spanish, which appeared to be a gesture of goodwill toward Mexico.

Negotiations will begin with what isn't in NAFTA already - - digital trade, protection of intellectual property and energy trade, among other topics. Leaders admitted that's the easy part.

After modernizing, the tough work begins," Lighthizer said. Watch Autopilot Megavideo more. Related: Trump's objectives for NAFTA Future rounds of negotiations will take place in Mexico and Canada over coming months.

Thorny issues surround several topics, including where and how car companies manufacture vehicles. Trump's team sees this as an area where they can reshape NAFTA to create more factory jobs. Right now, 6. 2% of the parts of a car sold in North America have to come from the region. U. S. officials will likely aim to raise that level, though it's unclear how much. But experts caution if companies have to produce more parts in the U. S., it will likely cause American consumers to pay higher prices on cars, clothing and other goods.

It sounds difficult to achieve both things, something has to give," says Marcelo Carvalho, head of emerging markets research at BNP Paribas. Another challenge facing the negotiators: Time. Mexico has a presidential election next year and the front runner, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is a major critic of Trump. Current Mexican officials warn that NAFTA talks need to end before Mexico's election season starts next spring because it will be very hard to ratify a deal in that political environment. Related: Spurned by Trump, China and Mexico talk up possible trade deal And Lighthizer noted that Trump isn't interested in "tweaking" NAFTA.

They want a "major improvement." Experts say the administration will be challenged to get a truly new deal done before the spring. I'm skeptical that you can fundamentally rewrite the agreement in six to eight months," says Matthew Rooney, economic growth director at the Bush Institute in Texas. As talks get underway, one lingering question hangs over the three nations. If they can't get an agreement, does President Trump get rid of it entirely?" said Lori Wallach, global trade watch director at Public Citizen, a non- profit. It depends on the will of the parties." CNNMoney (New York) First published August 1.

Oil prices skyrocket as OPEC confirms deal to cut production The oil cartel finalized an agreement on Wednesday to cut its overall production by 1. Crude prices boomed by almost 9% to $4. The agreement will set OPEC's new production ceiling at 3. January. That's down from the 3.

October. "We have been able to reach an agreement," said Qatar's oil minister Mohammed bin Saleh al- Sada. This agreement is out of the sense of responsibility for OPEC member countries, for non- OPEC countries, for the general well- being and the health of the world economy." Indonesia had decided to suspend its membership of OPEC because it could not agree to the production cut, he added. The agreement will see most OPEC countries cut their production by around 4. Saudi Arabia, the group's biggest producer, will see its output decline by almost 5.

The agreement hinges on the cooperation of major non- OPEC producers, who must also cut their production by a combined 6. Al- Sada, who is also OPEC's president, said that Russia had agreed to slash its production by 3. The idea is that a production cut will help boost crude prices, which have already risen from $2. February. The meeting, which was held in Vienna, caps months of fraught negotiations that pitted the cartel's de- facto leader Saudi Arabia against its regional rival Iran.

Iran's production level was a key sticking point in negotiations. Tehran had insisted on keeping its production near 4 million barrels a day, which is the amount it was pumping before sanctions were imposed. The agreement reached Wednesday allows Iran to ramp up production by 9.

That's a daily boost of 1 million barrels over its 2. Libya and Nigeria have also been granted an exemption from the cut. Both countries had seen their production drop because of of armed conflict. Related: It's OPEC vs. Trump on oil In September, producers achieved a breakthrough and preliminarily agreed to trim output for the first time since 2.

The tentative agreement sent crude soaring above $5. Al- Sada as asked during a press conference to address whether OPEC was still a vital organization. OPEC is still OPEC," he said. Today's unity is a very explicit sign about the position of OPEC." - - Matt Egan and Ivana Kottasova contributed reporting. CNNMoney (Vienna) First published November 3.