U.S and Canada ink trade deal to change NAFTA; FBI investigations on Brett Kavanaugh being controlled by the White House; Conservative Party conference in the U.K. for Brexit plan.
LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong on a Monday night Welcome back, this is "News Stream." Now, U.S President Donald Trump once called NAFTA, in his words, the worse deal maybe ever signed. And today you can say he delivered on the campaign pledge to revise it after Canada reached a last-minute deal with the U.S. On twitter, President Trump called the new pact, which will be known as the US-Mexico-Canada agreement, wonderful and historic adding that it will be great for all three countries. Let's go now to New York. That's where we are going top find CNN correspondent Paula Newton as well as CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans. A big thank you to you both and Christine, we'll start with you Donald Trump, we know he has long criticized NAFTA. Is this new trade agreement that much different from the original? What's in it?</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, they're ditching the name. It's not going to be NAFTA. It is US-Mexico-Canada agreement USMCA. Peter Navarro, one of the president's top trade architects saying, you know, consider NAFTA dead. This is the new architecture. The Americans and the Canadians saying this is going to strengthen the middle class and create good well-paying jobs for the nearly half a billion who call North America home. What's in it? Well, they gave way on that access. More access now to Canada's dairy market. This was really important politically for President Trump -- a big win for President Trump. He had been in upstate New York. He had been in Wisconsin. He had heard the complaints of American farmers and he really, really pressed Canada on this. It does preserve a way to settle dispute. That is something that is important to the Canadians, but it is still scaled-back. Now here is something interesting, the higher wages and labor standards for autoworkers, cars imported from the three North American countries must have 75 percent North-American content rather for duty free trade and two- fifths of every car to be duty-free have to have wages at $16 an hour or higher. So that was something that was a really important thing for the Americans. They're really trying to, you know, make things better for American factory workers. That was really a goal here for the American team.</s>LU STOUT: Got it. And Paula, there was this time where it was kind of touch and go for Canada. You know, it looked like Canada would be excluded from any final deal, but they are in it. So, how is Canda viewing this? Are they getting what they want?</s>PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They definitely did get a lot of what they wanted. One thing that they didn't get though and despite everything that Christine just mentioned in terms of you're going to have a lot of politicians today saying this is a win-win situation. Canada did not get the tariffs on steel and aluminum lifted. That is 25 percent on steel, 10 percent on aluminum. It's causing the Canadian economy, and I don't say other economies around the world, a lot of money right now, Donald Trump and his administration hung close to that largely for political reasons. The Canadian say they are still waiting for those to be lifted, but Christine, what this does -- Kristie, what this does is shed really a light on what the negotiating strategy will be going forward. Whether it's Japan or whether it's Europe or whether it's China, which will the tough negotiation ahead, Kristie, which we all know these are the kind of issues, political issues that no matter how much the negotiations went down to the wire the Trump administration just wouldn't budge.</s>LU STOUT: Yes. And let's get Christine's thoughts on that. Christine, how should other nations seeking a trade deal with the U.S. view this? Should they be more optimistic, more hopeful that, yes, they too can struck a deal with Donald Trump?</s>ROMANS: I think that they have seen how Donald Trump negotiates. Like you're right, he did not budge at all, Paula. And you know, there was criticism of this president last week because he was taking such a tough line on America's allies at the same time he is being so -- Canada -- while he is being so gentlemanly to North Korea, right. And I think the Chinese negotiators, what they see in this deal right here is a president who did not back down. They see a Chinese manufacturing sector that is starting -- it's growth is slowing there, right, under a bit of pressure. And this is a president who really, really wants to make another campaign promise in terms of China, keeping a campaign promise in terms of China. Also in this deal, there's this interesting thing. I don't know if you notice it Paula, but in sort of the -- what we're learning and what's emerging about this deal, something about currency manipulation. Countries could not be able to, you know, artificially weaken their currency to help their exports. That's part of that problem, between the United States, Canada and Mexico. There are a lot of people who were thinking that some of that language and some of those ideas might be a precursor for other trade ght be a precursor for other trade deals going forward.</s>LU STOUT: Paula go ahead.</s>NEWTON: I'm sorry Kristie, no, and Christine is right. Christine Romans is right in terms of the architecture of this deal. When you look at the architecture of this deal in terms of currency manipulation or even key here, Kristie, is the intellectual property piece. They are definitely looking at it as a template to go forward.</s>LU STOUT: All right, Paula Newton, Christine Romans, a big thank you for you both. Thank a lot. Take care. We're going to have much on the deal along with how the market is going to react at the opening bell. That's coming up on "First Move with Julie Chatterley" that starts in about 40 minutes from now. And news that Elon Musk will step down as the chairman of Tesla, that seems to be giving a big boost to the stock. I mean, Tesla shares has soared as much as 18 percent in pre-marketing trading after Elon Musk agreed over the weekend to pay a $20,000,000 fine to (inaudible) a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulators, they claim that he misled investors by claiming he has secured funding to take the company private. Musk did not admit or deny wrongdoing with the settlement. He will remain as CEO. Now, the FBI investigation into Donald Supreme Court nominee seems to be raising more questions and answers at this point. President Trump has said the FBI will have free rein in their probe of Brett Cavanaugh. But Democrats, they are concerned with White House maybe trying to limit the scope of the investigation. Kavanaugh has denied allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to his time in high school and college. His drinking habits back then have also come under scrutiny and that one of his former Yale classmates says that Kavanaugh has not told the truth about that. Abby Phillip is at the White House. She joins us now and Abby, the questions out there, concerns are growing about the scope of the investigation and exactly who's calling the shots here.</s>ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly right, Kristie. This investigation was supposed to add some more clarity to this national debate about the MeToo Movement that has been sparked by Brett Kavanaugh's nomination, but instead what we're talking about is whether or not the White House is playing a role along with Senate Democrats in trying to limit the scope of this investigation.</s>PHILLIP (voice-over): The FBI investigation into Judge Brett Cavanaugh under scrutiny with sources telling CNN that the White House is controlling the scope of the probe despite President Trump insisting otherwise.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have free rein. They're going to do whatever they have to do, whatever it is they do.</s>PHILLIP: Two sources tell CNN that the administration's lead advocate for Kavanaugh, White House counsel Don McGahn is working with Senate Republicans to make the review as narrow as possible.</s>KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: It will be limited in scope. It's meant to last one week. It's not meant to be a fishing expedition.</s>PHILLIP: The top Democrat on the judiciary committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, requesting a copy of the White House's directive laying out the parameters of the investigation in a letter to McGahn and FBI Director Christopher Ray last night.</s>SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D), HAWAII: To limit the FBI as to the scope and who they were going to question. That really -- I wanted to use the word farce but that's not the kind of investigation that all of us are expecting the FBI to conduct.</s>PHILLIP: President Trump pushing back, charging that nothing will ever be enough for Democrats.</s>SARA HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The White House counsel has allowed the Senate to dictate what these terms look like and what the scope of the investigation is</s>SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D), MINNESOTA: You can't interview this person, you can't look at this time period. You can only look at these people from one side of the street from when they were growing up. I mean, come on.</s>PHILLIP: A source tell CNN that Cavanaugh's drinking history, a key point of contention at last week's hearing is not part of the probe.</s>BRETT KAVANAUGH, U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: If you're asking about blackout, I don't know, have you?</s>PHILLIP: On of Kavanaugh's Yale classmates accusing Kavanaugh of being a frequent and heavy drinker in a statement Sunday, feeding and downplaying the degree in frequency of his drinking, Brett has not told the truth.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Judge Kavanaugh is shown to have lied to the committee, the nomination is over.</s>SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: Yes, I would think so.</s>PHILLIP: CNN has learned the FBI has spoken to Deborah Ramirez Sunday, who accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her at a party while they were students at Yale, a claim Kavanaugh has denied. There is no indication that the FBI intends to speak with the third accuser, Julie Swetnick, who has also accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell releasing a statement on Sunday, attacking Swetnick's credibility.</s>KAANAUGH: The Swetnick thing is a joke. That is a farce.</s>PHILLIP: Two sources tell CNN that Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford were not on the initial witness list given by Senate Republicans to the White House, but that agents were expected to interview several people who Ford says were present at the party where she says she was assaulted.</s>PHILLIP (on-camera): And the question about the scope of this investigation is really one that could be answered pretty quickly either by the White House or by the FBI. It's pretty telling that despite all of this back-and-forth over the weekend there hasn't been anything concrete that's come out of either place about how and to what extent they are investigating this. I should also note that last night, former FBI director James Comey wrote an op-ed indicating that he believes the FBI can play a constructive role in this process. He indicated that he believed that if there were any lies that were told either in the confirmation hearing, the FBI can clear this up because of the power that speaking to interviewers has people tend to not lie to the FBI and investigators tend to get the truth, so that's Comey's perspective on all of this, Kristie.</s>LU STOUT: And meanwhile, President Trump, he says he has no plan B, he has no back up plan. In the event that Kavanaugh's nomination fails, why is that?</s>PHILLIP: So that's right, I mean the president here projecting some confidence in this process and indicating that he's not looking elsewhere just in case this failed. And I would also add that the White House agreed to do this seemingly in part because they believe that nothing could emerge that would tank his nomination, but the president told reporters that this is it's Kavanaugh or bust. But what we had heard from reporters -- from sources last week, is that there were people in the White House and around the White House who have been suggesting that maybe they should start preparing some of the other individuals who had been on President Trump's shortlist just in case Kavanaugh doesn't make it through. I think there is still a possibility here, just given how narrow these margins are in the Senate, that this could go either way. So I think the president projecting confidence shouldn't be taken as a fait accompli for this particular nomination, Kristie.</s>LU STOUT: Got it. Abby Phillip, reporting live from the White House. Thank you. Now, the U.K due to leave the European Union in just six months time, but the debate on how to do it, that is raging on. British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing increasing pressure from members of her own conservative party over her plans for Brexit. The issue is set to dominate her party's annual conference in Birmingham, England, which is now in day two. CNN's Bianca Nabilo is (inaudible) the story from there. She joins us live, and Bianca, at this conference, Theresa May really needs to reassert her authority. We know that political rivals are circling around her. Tell us about what's at stake for the British prime minister.</s>BIANCA NABILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, I mean, politically everything is at stake with the prime minister this week. She has almost become and her leadership synonymous with her Brexit proposal even though obviously the policy and the person are distinct what she stands for in these Brexit negotiations is having a huge impact on her credibility as leader. Now, it's been said for some time that she won't be leader too long after Britain actually exits the E.U next month from the 29th, but everything is still uncertain at the moment and what's happened today is we've seen her in a call, really rally around her. We've had a speech from her chancellor, Phillip Hammond, and also the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, who had some very strong words for the E.U. Let's take a listen.</s>DOMINIC RAAB, U.K. BREXIT SECRETARY: If the EU wants a deal they need to get serious and they need to do it now. Some people say that no deal is unthinkable. Wrong. What is unthinkable is that this document or any other British document could be bullied by the threat of some kind of economic embargo into signing a one-sided deal against our country's interests.</s>NABILO: Fighting talk there from the Brexit secretary who certainly does have a black belt in karate but he and the chancellor have rallied around the prime minister today, just digging their heels in and making sure that the party know and bear in mind, this party is not -- will check in no particular popular plan within this party. So they are really trying to call on some more support in these crucial stages and convince the members because they are actually aren't other options on the table. People might talk about a comprehensive free trade deal that is more ambitious, but they argue that is simply not possible as far as the E.U is concerned.</s>LU STOUT: OK, so, all eyes on Theresa May and also on, yes, Boris Johnson who resigned as foreign secretary in protest of May's chequer's plan earlier this year. What Brexit plan is he calling for and how much party support does it have?</s>NABILO: That's an interesting question because when I was at the this conference last year, there was a lot more drama and excitement around Boris as a figure in the party and he commanded more approval than he currently does. So that remains to be seen. He's going to hold a big rally tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how the membership responds to that. Now he, in his proponent of what he calls a super Canada deal. This is an idea that Canada style over the E.U., so a free trade agreement rather than something closer to the Norway option which keeps the U.K. far more closely aligned with the European Union in the future. Now, that has a lot of support among the membership of the conservative party, but that is exactly why the messaging from the prime minister, the Brexit secretary and the chancellor today have been strong and they've all been arguing that whatever Boris is suggesting is simply not feasible in these negotiations. However, he did dominate the first day of conference yesterday with making a huge splash across all of the headlines. He has called the prime minister chequers proposal to rage in his (inaudible) attacks on the proposal. The former Brexit secretary, David Davis and some other members of the conservative party who are highly ranked and listened to those membership have come out though and be more critical of Boris than they have in years past. So, watch the space. It seems like his star maybe fading somewhat.</s>LU SOUT: Interesting. Bianca Nabilo, reporting live from Birmingham, thank you. We'll talk again soon. You're watching "News Stream." And still ahead, scenes of devastation just there in Indonesia as the death toll rises following that massive earthquake and tsunami. We go live to the region, next.