[CTC] Guajardo: New 'window of opportunity' for NAFTA talks

[Arthur Stamoulis]

POLITICO PRO
Guajardo: New 'window of opportunity' for NAFTA talks

By Sabrina Rodriguez 
07/26/2018 04:13 PM EDT

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Thursday that it was possible that the three NAFTA nations could wrap up talks on a renegotiated deal by the end of August.

"The window of opportunity for the current administration in Mexico, in coordination with the incoming government, to arrive at a deal opens in this moment and more or less closes at the end of August," Guajardo said as he was entering a private meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. 

"Anything is possible," he added. 

Guajardo's comments come after Lighthizer told lawmakers on Thursday morning that he believes <http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b530f4ddd2997ac3eb84518f976d3257a9c06ff61136002156b4e88c4251cffce3ca7be0b3d5f5fd1830d637e198427c> the U.S. is close to getting a revamped NAFTA agreement that could be wrapped up by Labor Day.

The meeting in Washington was the first face-to-face negotiations between the two trade officials since talks involving the U.S., Mexico and Canada chilled almost two months ago. It is also the first sit-down since Mexicans elected as president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who will take office on Dec. 1. 

Nine chapters have been closed and 10 are almost finished, Guajardo said, adding that a significant portion of the agreement has already been written on the technical level.

"We are taking off this process at a new speed, and the idea is to face all the complex issues," Guajardo said.

However, he cautioned that "in a negotiation, nothing is guaranteed. The only thing that is guaranteed is the commitment and the willingness to keep on working."

Guajardo will remain in Washington on Friday. 

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray and Jesús Seade, a former WTO official and López Obrador's pick for chief NAFTA negotiator, arrived at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative shortly after Guajardo entered his meeting.

Videgaray and Seade were welcomed at the entrance of USTR's offices by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who has been active in U.S.-Mexico bilateral issues.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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