ZCZC
BCN-25
US-CANADA-MEXICO-NAFTA-TRADE
Mexican trade team due in US for NAFTA talks
MEXICO CITY, Aug 9, 2018 (BSS/) – Mexico’s negotiating team for the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will resume its talks with US officials
in Washington on Wednesday, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said.
“We will be starting our meetings tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) after
landing in Washington,” Guajardo, who leads the Mexican team, told local
radio Grupo Formula on Tuesday.
Guajardo said he would be accompanied by Jesus Seade, who has been
designated his successor by president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who
takes office on December 1.
US and Mexican officials have said they will aim to conclude the talks this
month.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer last month suggested he still
favored a so-called sunset clause in US trade agreements, requiring parties
to renew them every five years.
US insistence on the sunset provision helped derail the NAFTA talks earlier
this year after both Canadian and Mexican officials rejected it outright.
Talks were first launched last year after Trump demanded an overhaul of the
“terrible deal,” and he has threatened to pull out and then negotiate
separate bilateral accords, most recently in a letter to Lopez Obrador.
Canada has not participated in the talks in Washington which have been
focused on resolving bilateral issues between Mexico and the United States.
However, foreign minister and Canadian chief negotiator, Chrystia Freeland,
said Saturday that she has been in contact with her partners.
BSS/AFP/HR/1040