White House Tries to Pull Nafta Back From Brink as Deadlines Loom

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Supported by Politics White House Tries to Pull Nafta Back From Brink as Deadlines Loom Photo An assembly line at a Volkswagen plant in Mexico. A new proposal would tie the North American Free Trade Agreement’s preferential tariffs to higher wages for auto workers, aimed at stopping United States automakers from shifting production to Mexico in search of cheap labor. Credit Pedro Pardo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images WASHINGTON — After months of fraught negotiations and stalled talks, the Trump administration is aiming to announce a preliminary deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement this month, moving to resolve one trading conflict as a separate clash with China looms.
A final agreement is far from guaranteed, but the White House is revising some of its more aggressive demands, particularly related to automobiles, which had been a source of tension with Canada and Mexico. A new proposal would require an automobile to contain components made by workers earning a speci..

Trump Doubles Down on Potential Trade War With China

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Supported by Business Day Trump Doubles Down on Potential Trade War With China Photo A port in Nantong, in China’s eastern Jiangsu Province, on Wednesday. Credit Agence France-Presse — Getty Images President Trump said Thursday that he will consider hitting China with an additional $100 billion in tariffs, on top of the $50 billion the White House has already authorized, escalating threats of a trade war with the Chinese that his top advisers had tried to minimize a day earlier.
In a statement late Thursday, Mr. Trump said that he was responding to China’s “unfair retaliation” against the United States, which this week outlined hundreds of Chinese products, like flat-screen TVs and medical devices, that could be subject to American tariffs. The Chinese, in response, detailed their own list of $50 billion worth of American products, like soybeans and pork, that would be hit with levies.
“Rather than remedy its misconduct, China has chosen to harm our farmers and manufacturers,” Mr…

Wheels: McLaren’s Formula One History Drives It on the Streets

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Supported by Business Day McLaren’s Formula One History Drives It on the Streets WOKING, England — “These are not like rational purchases,” Mike Flewitt said. “You don’t need to buy a McLaren.”
Sharing the room was a sculptural, blue McLaren 570S Spider convertible. Scary fast with a top speed of 204 miles an hour, it is cheap for a McLaren, starting at 164,750 pounds — about $230,000.
“A car like this is just an indulgence,” said Mr. Flewitt, who is the chief executive of McLaren Automotive. “It is a luxury.”
Mr. Flewitt, a former Ford executive, is leading McLaren’s bid to make the company a force at the very top end of the car market. The company can trace its origins back more than five decades to the race driver and car designer Bruce McLaren, who made his name on circuits like Formula One. By marrying the pedigree and technology of racing machines to what are (at least nominally) street cars, McLaren aims to win the sort of customers who can afford any car they like.
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Breakingviews: Why BlackRock’s Move to Disarm Some Funds Is Good Business

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Supported by Why BlackRock’s Move to Disarm Some Funds Is Good Business Photo BlackRock, led by Laurence D. Fink, will allow investors to invest in market indexes without putting money into manufacturers and retailers of firearms. Credit Mike Cohen for The New York Times BlackRock may have found a simple solution to its gun dilemma. The fund manager, led by Laurence D. Fink, will offer new products allowing individuals and institutions to invest in market indexes without putting money into manufacturers and retailers of firearms. Coupled with a plan to engage public gunmakers and sellers directly, the decision moves Mr. Fink closer to fulfilling a promise that BlackRock’s business benefit society alongside the bottom line.
Because it has over $6 trillion of client money to invest, much of it in products that follow stock and bond market indexes, BlackRock is among the top owners of nearly every public company. That includes American Outdoor Brands, maker of the AR-15-style rifle u..

E.P.A. Officials Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt

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Supported by Business Day E.P.A. Officials Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt Photo Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency faced career repercussions after questioning the spending of its administrator, Scott Pruitt, center. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times WASHINGTON — At least five officials at the Environmental Protection Agency, four of them high-ranking, were reassigned or demoted, or requested new jobs in the past year after they raised concerns about the spending and management of the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt.
The concerns included unusually large spending on office furniture and first-class travel, as well as certain demands by Mr. Pruitt for security coverage, such as requests for a bulletproof vehicle and an expanded 20-person protective detail, according to people who worked for or with the E.P.A. and have direct knowledge of the situation.
Mr. Pruitt bristled when the officials — four career E.P.A. employees and one Trump administration..

Trump Veers From Tax Script to Blast Democrats on Immigration

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Supported by Politics Trump Veers From Tax Script to Blast Democrats on Immigration Photo Bored with his prepared remarks at an event in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., on Thursday, President Trump opted instead for a lengthy tirade against immigrants and the nation’s immigration laws. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — President Trump on Thursday lashed out at Democrats for opposing his proposals to fortify the border and toughen immigration laws, accusing his political opponents of embracing dangerous policies to secure immigrant votes.
“This is what the Democrats are doing to you, and they like it because they think they’re going to vote Democrat,” Mr. Trump said, after recounting the terrorist attack in Lower Manhattan last October, in which an Uzbek immigrant killed eight people when he drove a truck onto a pedestrian and bicycle path on the West Side Highway. “They’re doing it for that reason, and other reasons.”
Mr. Trump traveled to West Virg..