[CTC] NAFTA talks can wrap up by end of year, Mexican ambassador says

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/17/geronimo-gutierre-mexico-nafta-pro-summit-725978 <https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/17/geronimo-gutierre-mexico-nafta-pro-summit-725978>

NAFTA talks can wrap up by end of year, Mexican ambassador says


By Eleanor Mueller 
07/17/2018 12:33 PM EDT

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Gerónimo Gutiérrez expressed confidence today that the NAFTA negotiation can be "wrapped up by the end of the year."

Speaking at the POLITICO Pro Summit, Gutiérrez said he was "optimistic about what we've heard" from Mexico's president-elect, the leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and his transition team. Last week, following meetings in Mexico with high-level officials in the Trump administration, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d52c525605a1a4c2ecc3133e38cc340b681d9e202e73049957365642496a369a36d190cac66cb5837216279ed0de34ae> that negotiators from current President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration will work "in close coordination" with López Obrador's transition team.

López Obrador was elected on July 1 and is due to take office on Dec. 1. News of Mexico's efforts to establish continuity between the incoming and outgoing governments in the NAFTA renegotiation cleared the way for talks to resume again at high levels.

"I do believe we have a fair chance of getting this wrapped up by the end of the year," Gutiérrez told Pro Trade's Doug Palmer during a discussion at the summit.

The NAFTA talks have bogged down in recent months over a number of controversial proposals introduced by the Trump administration, including on automotive rules of origin and a "sunset clause" that would allow for the deal to be terminated in five years if the three countries do not agree to renew it.

"There have been technical meetings going on. I think that's positive," Gutiérrez said, adding: "There has not been a re-engagement thus far at a ministerial level, but I would emphasize that contacts will be ongoing."

BONUS CLIP:

Mexican ambassador: NAFTA deal could eliminate U.S. auto tariffs threat

By Doug Palmer 
07/17/2018 03:32 PM EDT

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Gerónimo Gutiérrez expressed hope on Tuesday of reaching a revised NAFTA agreement that would eliminate President Donald Trump's threat to impose duties on more than $170 billion worth of auto and auto imports from Mexico and Canada. 

"I remain optimistic that we, in the end, are going to find a common ground [between] Canada, the United States [and] ourselves to move forward with NAFTA and those things ... will be something that we left in the past," Gutiérrez said during a discussion at POLITICO Pro's annual policy summit. 

At Trump's direction, the Commerce Department is investigating whether imports of autos and auto parts pose a threat to national security by undermining the U.S. industrial base. The department already made that finding in two prior investigations involving steel and aluminum, prompting Trump to impose duties on most imports of the two metals.

Gutiérrez will testify at a Commerce Department hearing Thursday as part of the auto investigation, along with the ambassadors from the EU and Canada and other government officials from Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, South Africa and Taiwan.

Both Mexico and Canada retaliated after Trump imposed duties on their steel and aluminum exports. But the stakes are much higher for autos, since the United States imported about $116 billion worth of autos and auto parts from Mexico last year and about $62 billion from Canada. 

Gutiérrez said he did not want to speculate on whether Mexico would retaliate against U.S. auto tariffs on a dollar-for-dollar basis, as it did when it hit about $3 billion worth of U.S. exports with new duties in retaliation for Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs. However, he also expressed hope that a new NAFTA deal would persuade Trump to lift his steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico.

Canadian Deputy Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman also stopped short of promising Canada would impose dollar-for-dollar retaliation in response to any U.S. auto tariffs.

"We're too soon in this process to make any pronouncements," Hillman said at the summit.

Canada imposed duties on about $13 billion worth of U.S. exports in retaliation for Trump's steel and aluminum duties. But "it's not something that we wanted to do and we will be very pleased to remove them as soon as the U.S. does the same," Hillman said.

Both Gutiérrez and Hillman expressed hope that there could be a final NAFTA deal by the end of the year. Technical level talks are currently underway and top trade officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States could meet within the next several weeks for the first time since before the July 1 Mexican presidential election, Gutiérrez said.

Hillman was less definitive about the time frame for the next NAFTA ministerial meeting, but said Canada was "ready to hit the table and move [the talks] forward anytime."
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