Yen, Peso Pop After Ross Targets NAFTA, Japan For Trade Deals

The yen and the peso jerked higher after President Trump’s commerce secretary Wilbur Ross commented that he expected to start renegotiating NAFTA within two weeks and that Japan will be high on the list for trade agreements.

As Bloomberg reports, discussions are under way with the Finance, Ways and Means committees and the expectation is that “in the next couple weeks” the U.S. will issue the 90-day notice trigger legally required consultations with lawmakers, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross tells journalists in Washington. Ross spoke at a press briefing with Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal. The revamping of Nafta could result in either two bilateral agreements with symmetrical conditions or a fresh trilateral deal, says Ross, adding the U.S. is less concerned with the form than trying to get the right substance, and that it is premature to discuss specific details of Nafta talks. The border-adjustable tax is still a concept, and there’s been no formal proposal; whatever is decided will probably be a “large component” of the House tax bill.

Additionally, Ross said that Japan was to be a high priority with regard a new trade agreement. 

The result was a kneejerk higher in the Yen and peso…