[CTC] Mexico Says U.S., Mexico Aim to Reach Nafta Deal by Late August

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-says-u-s-mexico-aim-to-reach-nafta-deal-by-late-august-1531953483?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=5 <https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-says-u-s-mexico-aim-to-reach-nafta-deal-by-late-august-1531953483?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=5>

Mexico Says U.S., Mexico Aim to Reach Nafta Deal by Late August
 
By Santiago Pérez 
July 18, 2018
 
MEXICO CITY—Senior U.S. and Mexico officials have agreed to step up negotiations to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement with the aim of reaching a preliminary deal by late August, Mexico’s Economy Minister said Wednesday.

“It’s feasible from a technical perspective, but politically, you need flexibility from all parties,” Ildefonso Guajardo, who serves as Mexico’s chief trade negotiator, said in a radio interview.

At a White House cabinet meeting on Wednesday <https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-threatens-eu-with-retribution-if-auto-deal-isnt-fair-1531931468?mod=hp_lead_pos4&mod=article_inline>, U.S. President Trump said he had a “good session” with Mexico on Nafta, which he has repeatedly criticized as unfair. He also said the U.S. may complete separate agreements with Mexico and Canada, suggesting that aiming for a preliminary Nafta deal by late August is still in question at the White House.

Mr. Guajardo plans to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on July 26 to address Nafta sticking points such as content rules for the automotive sector and mechanisms to solve commercial disputes. Canada will also join in negotiations, Mr. Guajardo said, but he didn’t provide specific dates for a new round of talks among the three countries.

The idea would be to reach a preliminary agreement by Aug. 25, since the U.S. Congress requires 90 days for approval and a new administration takes over in Mexico Dec. 1, Mr. Guajardo told the Radio Fórmula station.

Mexico’s President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a leftist nationalist who won the July 1 election by a landslide <https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexicans-head-to-polls-to-elect-president-1530454699?mod=article_inline>, has expressed support for Mr. Guajardo’s stance in negotiations with the U.S. and Canada and said he would be in favor of a new deal before he takes office.
 
A high-level U.S. delegation that included Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House adviser Jared Kushner held separate meetings in Mexico City last week <https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-mexico-pompeo-delegation-set-to-discuss-immigration-trade-security-1531505230?mod=article_inline> with Mr. López Obrador and departing President Enrique Peña Nieto.
 
Talks to revamp Nafta stalled in mid-May. Trade tensions increased in June as the U.S. imposed steel tariffs on Mexico and Canada, prompting retaliation against U.S. exports.

After Mexico’s presidential election, U.S. officials agreed to relaunch talks.

In response to Mr. Trump’s mention of separate deals with Canada and Mexico, Mr. Guajardo reiterated Mexico’s stance that it won’t pursue a bilateral trade treaty with the U.S.

“If the U.S. wants to move to a bilateral deal, its internal rules would delay the negotiations too much, since a new treaty requires congressional approval,” he said.

“There is value on the Nafta label, and that’s North American integration,” Mr Guajardo added.

Technically, he said, agreement is feasible in the next 45 days. The challenge is for the sides to show political flexibility on topics that are “intrinsically toxic to a commercial agreement,” he said.



Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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