[CTC] Official: U.S., Mexico delay release of NAFTA text anticipating deal with Canada

[Arthur Stamoulis]

INSIDE US TRADE

Official: U.S., Mexico delay release of NAFTA text anticipating deal with Canada

September 28, 2018 at 7:43 PM

The U.S. and Mexico have agreed to delay the release of their bilateral trade deal's text because an agreement with Canada could be imminent, an official close to the talks told Inside U.S. Trade.

Canada, the official said, had been expected to temporarily suspend bilateral negotiations with the U.S. ahead of Oct. 1 elections in Quebec. However, the official said, Canada and the U.S. are striving to reach an agreement by the end of the weekend, the deadline for the text of a deal to be released under U.S. Trade Promotion Authority law.

An “active negotiation” is underway, the official said, adding that the deal ideally would include all three countries.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told the Mexican Senate late Friday that he would know whether a trilateral agreement could be reached within the next 48 hours.

“In the next 48 hours we will know if we can reach a trilateral text,” he said.

The official said the planned release of the U.S.-Mexico deal's text on Friday was called for by the U.S., noting that the legal deadline was Sunday.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer this week said a “fair amount of distance <https://insidetrade.com/node/164486>” remained between the U.S. and Canada in their talks, contending that several “significant issues” remained – including Canada’s supply management system for dairy and Chapter 19 dispute settlement, two areas he said where Ottawa was unwilling to compromise.

U.S. lawmakers have insisted that the Trump administration obtain better Canadian dairy market access and many have remained uncommitted <https://insidetrade.com/node/164515>to a U.S.-Mexico deal.

President Trump on Wednesday claimed to have rejected a request for a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, citing a lack of progress in the NAFTA talks; Trudeau’s office later denied that such a request was made.

Trump said the U.S. would move forward on a bilateral deal with Mexico if Canada didn’t budge.

Mexican president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday his administration would not reopen the agreement <https://insidetrade.com/node/164547> with the U.S. once he takes office in December. Lighthizer has said the uncertainty of dealing with AMLO made it necessary for the deal to be signed by the current president, Enrique Peña Nieto.

AMLO also said he would continue to insist that NAFTA remain a trilateral agreement, adding that he hoped a deal between the U.S. and Canada could be reached soon. – Anshu Siripurapu (anshus at iwpnews.com <mailto:anshus at iwpnews.com>)

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