Thread: Mexico, U.S. likely 'hours' away from agreement on NAFTA - minister

Mexico, U.S. likely 'hours' away from agreement on NAFTA - minister


FILE PHOTO: Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo at a news in Mexico City on May 1, 2018.

By Sharay Angulo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Mexican trade negotiators are "hours" away from squaring away bilateral differences on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) but work with Canada is likely to stretch into September, a top Mexican official said on Sunday.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told reporters that work with Canada, which has sat out the latest phase of NAFTA talks, would take at least a week, though he was optimistic Mexico and the United States were close to agreement.

"I would say that we're practically in the final hours of this negotiation," he told reporters as he arrived for talks at the offices of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

After the talks broke for lunch a couple of hours later, Guajardo said he could not declare victory yet.
The Mexico-U.S. discussions have focused on crafting new rules for the automotive industry, which U.S. President Donald Trump has put at the heart of his drive to rework the 24-year-old pact he says has been a "disaster" for American workers.

The two sides have been gradually nearing a common position, and one source close to the negotiations said at the weekend there was now "little" separating the two on autos.

Industry sources say they are close to agreeing on raising the regional automotive content threshold for tariff-free access under NAFTA to around 75 percent from 62.5 percent.

Trump said on Saturday that Washington could reach agreement with Mexico "soon" as the chief trade negotiator of Mexico's incoming president signalled possible solutions to energy rules and a contentious U.S. "sunset clause" demand.

Since Mexico's July 1 presidential election, the bilateral talks have been complicated by divisions between the incoming and outgoing Mexican administrations over energy policy.

The team of leftist Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has resisted enshrining the 2013-14 opening of the oil and gas sector enacted by outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto in the new NAFTA, people close to the talks say.

Long skeptical of foreign companies entering the Mexican oil industry, Lopez Obrador opposed Pena Nieto's energy reform.

Jesus Seade, the incoming Mexican government's chief NAFTA negotiator, said the issue had been "ironed out" at the NAFTA talks, without going into detail. He said this week it was not a "substantive" matter and that Lopez Obrador's team had wanted to check the terms were consistent with the Mexican constitution.

If three-way talks run into September, final approval of the deal in Mexico will likely pass to Lopez Obrador, because under fast track authority, the U.S. Congress needs 90 days' notice to vote on a new NAFTA once the renegotiation is finished.

Lopez Obrador is due to take office on Dec. 1.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday her government's return to the talks would depend on how quickly the United States and Mexico could resolve their differences.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/m...163359335.html

I can't wait to hear the details, hope they're good for USA, and I think they will be. Very exciting!!

Originally Posted by Judy

I can't wait to hear the details, hope they're good for USA, and I think they will be. Very exciting!!

I wanted NAFTA completely dismantled. But it should at least be a lot fairer than it was. We need to start bringing all those jobs back home, that we lost to Mexico because of that stupid NAFTA deal.

It's bad enough that we exported millions of our jobs to Mexico, but at the same time, we imported millions of illegals to come here and suck up whatever remaining jobs were left. Enough is enough. We need to reverse all of this.

Part of that "deal" is take back every stinking one of your illegal aliens!

We don't want them!

Originally Posted by Beezer

Part of that "deal" is take back every stinking one of your illegal aliens!

We don't want them!

I second that!

Originally Posted by 6 Million Dollar Man

I wanted NAFTA completely dismantled. But it should at least be a lot fairer than it was. We need to start bringing all those jobs back home, that we lost to Mexico because of that stupid NAFTA deal.

It's bad enough that we exported millions of our jobs to Mexico, but at the same time, we imported millions of illegals to come here and suck up whatever remaining jobs were left. Enough is enough. We need to reverse all of this.

I have no problem with trading with Mexico or Canada, we should trade with them whenever it makes sense to do so but on a fair basis that benefits US, not just them, the way it is now. Hopefully, this will be accomplished with the negotiations. Can't wait to hear the details.

US softens its demand for NAFTA 'sunset clause': Mexican official

Published 9:37 AM ET Sat, 25 Aug 2018 Updated 3:37 PM ET Sat, 25 Aug 2018 Reuters

Yuri Gripas | Reuters


The United States has softened its contentious demand for a NAFTA "sunset clause," Mexico's incoming trade negotiator said on Saturday, potentially eliminating a key obstacle to reaching a deal next week to revamp the trade pact.

A few hours earlier, President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States could reach a "big Trade Agreement" with Mexico imminently.

Jesus Seade, designated chief negotiator of Mexico's next government, told reporters the new U.S. position would allow a periodic review of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but without an automatic expiration unless renegotiated every five years.

"It's going to come out. It's no longer what the United States was putting first in any way," Seade said of the sunset clause outside the U.S. Trade Representative's office.

The United States and Mexico have been holding bilateral talks aimed at resolving differences in the NAFTA renegotiation before bringing Canada back to the talks as they push for an agreement-in-principle by the end of August.

Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that the United States' "relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour. Some really good people within both the new and old government, and all working closely together....A big Trade Agreement with Mexico could be happening soon!"

The U.S. sunset clause demand has been one of the biggest roadblocks to NAFTA deal since it was first proposed in October 2017. It was meant by the Trump administration as a mechanism to force a renegotiation of NAFTA every five years if the new terms failed to foster more balanced trade between the three countries. If new terms could not be reached, NAFTA would die.

But Mexico, Canada and business interests in all three countries have adamantly opposed the concept, arguing it would create uncertainty over NAFTA's future that would paralyze business investment and job growth.

The structure Seade described is similar to a counter-proposal made by Mexico last November that called for a review of NAFTA's effects every five years without killing the pact.
But U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer never accepted that plan, insisting on a full sunset provision.

Seade said he and Lighthizer last week began discussing a new review approach, one that would have longer periods between reviews, providing more certainty for business investments. He said negotiations were continuing on this.

'Not there yet'
Asked about Trump's tweet, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo acknowledged some progress, but told reporters in Washington before beginning another day of talks that the two countries are "not there yet."

"Nothing is done until everything is truly done," he said. "Today will be an important day."

Trump prompted the NAFTA revamp more than a year ago, complaining the pact has benefited Mexico to the detriment of U.S. workers and manufacturing. He made renegotiating NAFTA one of his top campaign pledges.

Trump has threatened to withdraw from the pact if it is not reworked to the advantage of the United States.

The U.S.-Mexico talks for weeks focused on crafting new rules for the automotive industry, which Trump has put at the center of his drive to rework the 24-year-old deal he says has been a "disaster" for American workers.

Seade said the issue of auto sector rules is "basically resolved," although some aspects, including time frames, are still being discussed.

Seade also said on Saturday that a "correct focus" on NAFTA's energy chapter has already been substantially agreed.

Since Mexico's July 1 presidential election, the Mexico-U.S. talks have been complicated by divisions between the incoming and outgoing Mexican administrations over energy policy.

The team of leftist Mexican president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has resisted enshrining the 2013-14 opening of the oil and gas sector enacted by outgoing president Enrique Pena Nieto in the new NAFTA, people close to the talks say.

Lopez Obrador opposed Pena Nieto's energy reform, and the issue is divisive within his own camp. Business-friendly aides back greater outside investment in the industry, while his more nationalist allies want the oil to remain in Mexican hands.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/25/trum...-imminent.html

Originally Posted by 6 Million Dollar Man

I wanted NAFTA completely dismantled. But it should at least be a lot fairer than it was. We need to start bringing all those jobs back home, that we lost to Mexico because of that stupid NAFTA deal.

It's bad enough that we exported millions of our jobs to Mexico, but at the same time, we imported millions of illegals to come here and suck up whatever remaining jobs were left. Enough is enough. We need to reverse all of this.

So did I. I thought we should re-start from scratch and include some provisions concerning immigration. Guess we'll all have to wait for the details. The whole process hasn't been very transparent.

'We will NEVER pay for a wall,' Mexico tells Trump via Twitter