Is now (2017) an excellent time to re-negotiate treaties and trade agreements with the US because their government’s executive branch is in a chaotic state?

Alfonso Llanes, Master Degree in International Development

Answered just now

Fortune Magazine reports that “Trump 's trade officials, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, have long said that NAFTA's rules-of-origin provisions need to be tightened to exclude more components from outside the trading bloc. NAFTA requires cars and trucks to have only 62.5% North American content, providing significant opportunities for Asian manufacturers to provide parts.”

Trump’s view of "Buy American, Hire American" crusade could win some support from some Democrats in Congress. But news of potential trade deals did not impress Republican Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas.

Senator Roberts also said he wants to influence the White House on the importance of making trade deals that boost agricultural exports, including surplus wheat, in the middle of what he views as a fixation in the administration over exports of manufactures.

By measuring Trump’s first major legislative effort in Congress, to replace the 2010 Obamacare health law, it remains uncertain passage from stiff opposition of conservative Republicans and it could be a prelude to future trade negotiations that involve Congressional legislative action.

Disarray and chaos in the Trump administration should not be taken as a good indicator of better trade negotiations. In addition, Trump’s character imbalance and current legal issues concerning the Russian intervention in the 2016 election, firing the director of the FBI and other pending concerns paints uncertainty on the entire agenda that should not be overlooked.

Trump is not taken seriously in the United States with his dismaying polling numbers and with beginning calls for his impeachment from office. The political turmoil is not likely to die out soon, in fact, the drum beat might get louder as his disapproval ratings continue to climb. These facts alone should discourage organizations as well as governments into a “wait and see” attitude before to starting any serious negotiations with the present administration.