UPDATE: Trump Administration Begins NAFTA Review

Newly confirmed U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer has formally notified Congress that the Trump administration intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Lighthizer’s letter triggers a 90-day waiting period, after which the White House can demand changes or withdraw from the pact entirely. President Trump has emphasized since he began his campaign last year that he wants “free and fair trade” between the U.S. and its Canadian and Mexican NAFTA partners.

The 23-year-old agreement has fostered increased trade among the three countries. But critics say much of it in the auto industry has come at the expense of relocating American jobs to Mexico.

Lighthizer’s vaguely worded notification doesn’t say exactly what the White House wants to change. But two House Democrats from Michigan, Debbie Dingell and Sander Levin, tell The Detroit News that they want the Trump administration to adjust elements of the agreement they say have hurt U.S. jobs by suppressing Mexican wage rates.

Dingell also suggests the U.S. raise the local content level required for cars to qualify for tariff-free shipping within the NAFTA region to 90% from 62.5% today. Critics say Mexico has taken advantage of the current pact by using too many foreign-made parts in the “made in North America” vehicles they ship to the U.S.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urges fast action. It notes that a presidential election in Mexico next year, along with congressional elections in the U.S., could make it more difficult in 2018 to reach agreement on revisions.