The Mexican economic secretariat issued a statement assuring that “it is possible to conclude NAFTA negotiations in 20 days.
Mexico’s economy secretaries Luis Videgaray and Ildefonso Guajardo are in Washington in order to unblock the negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The Presidency of the Republic assured that the renegotiation “has made significant advances and it is possible that this month it will be concluded.
“We are still on the negotiation path and we can expect a closure in the next 20 days”.
The automotive theme
On a working tour of Washington, Guajardo confirmed to US media that they presented a counterproposal on the rule of origin in the automotive sector, in response to the proposals of the United States, which seeks that the regional content is 75% for vehicles assembled in the North American region.
The US proposal also suggests that 40% of light cars and 45% of pickup trucks are built in areas with salaries equivalent to $ 16 an hour or more.
We spent a whole week talking with the industry entrepreneurs in Mexico. We are about to be very seriously involved in what the realities of the automotive sector in North America are, “he said.
According to the Canadian agency CBC, Guajardo shared with Lighthizer ‘conceptual’ data for a different way of calculating the rules of origin, that is, general notions rather than specific percentages.
In addition to the automotive issue, the official said that in the discussion table there are other issues to review, so he planned to advance simultaneously in this work session.
Complexity
The president of Coparmex, Gustavo de Hoyos Walther, assured that the new ministerial meeting in Washington is becoming, due to the electoral timings that are pressing both Mexico and the United States.
According to the employer, there are also exogenous factors to the discussion tables, for messages that may deteriorate the meeting environment.
However, he hoped that it would be a period of at least 20 days when there would be a greater degree of progress on the most important issues of the NAFTA, such as the rule of origin, the termination clause and the solution of commercial disputes.
Source: Mexico News Network
