[CTC] NAFTA 'handshake' deal with Mexico targeted for Thursday

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Take with grain of salt...

https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2018/08/21/trump-nafta-mexico-746332?__twitter_impression=true


NAFTA 'handshake' deal with Mexico targeted for Thursday

The Trump administration is planning to formally announce on Thursday that
it has reached a breakthrough in NAFTA talks with Mexico, clearing the way
for Canada to rejoin negotiations to modernize the free trade pact, three
sources close to the talks told POLITICO.

The sources said that time has been cleared on the White House schedule for
the announcement, where President Donald Trump is expected to be in
attendance. Officials are expected to announce that the U.S. and Mexico,
which have been meeting together for the last several weeks, have made
enough progress on various two-way issues to be able to announce what one
source described as a “handshake” deal.

The announcement is also expected to include details of when Canadian
officials will be returning to Washington to resume talks with the other
two nations. It will likely be a U.S.-only announcement rather than one
made alongside Mexican officials, who are eager to close bilateral talks
but wary of making any formal announcement before Canada is in, one of the
sources said.

The sources cautioned that the schedule could change before Thursday.
Whether the announcement moves forward as planned could depend on how a
high-level meeting scheduled for Wednesday goes between U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso
Guajardo.

But putting an announcement on the White House calendar shows that
administration officials are bullish on their prospects of working out any
remaining issues with Mexico in the next couple of days. Mexico has for
weeks been pressing to wrap up at least a preliminary deal by Aug. 25 in
order for current President Enrique Peña Nieto to have time to sign it
before he leaves office Dec. 1.

Neither the White House nor the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
immediately responded to a request for comment Tuesday night.

The U.S. and Mexico have been focused primarily on negotiating contentious
automotive rules that govern how much of a car must be sourced from within
North America to qualify for reduced tariffs under NAFTA. The U.S. has been
seeking to increase that threshold and to add new mandates requiring a
certain percentage of each car be produced by workers earning at least $16
an hour.

It was unclear as of Tuesday night where the two sides had come out on the
issue, but sources told POLITICO last week that Mexico had agreed to accept
stricter auto rules in exchange for the U.S. dropping other controversial
demands and leaving a chapter largely untouched that contains rules on
disputes between governments.

Trump himself indicated at a rally in West Virginia Tuesday night that
talks with Mexico were close to completion.

“We’re on our way with a good deal — a fair deal with Mexico," he said.



Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826
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