News Briefs

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration is seeking an amendment to the North American Free Trade Agreement that would require a wage floor for workers in the automobile manufacturing sector. The proposed change would require 40% of the content of any duty-free autos to be produced by workers earning at least $16 per hour, which would represent more than double what many Mexican auto parts manufacturers make on an hourly basis. WSJ

In a Financial Times op-ed, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers argues that the threat of secular stagnation is not gone. Summers contends that while economic growth may pick up in the near-term, the boost to growth will largely be because of stimulative fiscal and monetary policies, not due to improving fundamentals of the U.S. economy. FT