NAFTA talks are ongoing between Mexico and the U.S. while Canada is waiting to re-engage in the process.
After appearing to be within “hours” of making a deal, Mexico and the United States are now offering a more cautious timeline next week for the completion of the automotive portion of NAFTA negotiations between the two countries.
“We’re on a path that can take us into the weekend and next week,” Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told reporters as he entered the offices of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington for talks, according to Reuters.
It was Guajardo that earlier suggested that an agreement could be had within “hours,” but now only suggests that the two sides are “well advanced.”
Though the North American Free Trade Agreement is a trilateral agreement that includes Canada as well, the auto talks have centered on the advantages the agreement has provided Mexico over the U.S. so there has been no need for the Canadians to be involved.
(NAFTA negotiations stalling out again. Click Here for the story.)
Mexico's top trade official Ildefonso Guajardo said he believed NAFTA talks could be done within "hours," but backed away from that later.
The talks could drag on due to unresolved sticking points, such as rules of origin for autos, meant to bring more production to the region, a U.S. sunset proposal that could kill NAFTA after five years and dispute resolution mechanisms, according to Reuters.
A variety of sources have noted that it has been tough demands by the Trump administration that have hindered the pace of talks. For example, Trump wants to be able to impose national security tariffs on Mexican products produced at any new auto assembly and parts plants, auto executives note.
(Click Here to see why NAFTA talks halted earlier.)
That demand has been causing friction at the latest U.S.-Mexico talks, Reuters reported. That said, the U.S. agreed to keep tariffs at 2.5% for autos and parts coming from existing facilities in Mexico.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is pushing for more advantageous rules for U.S. workers.
The sides are under a bit of pressure right now to get a deal done as the political landscape in Mexico is going to change. A new president was elected in July and he takes office Dec. 1, and there is no guarantee he would sign off on a deal negotiated by the previous administration.
(To see more about Trump’s auto tariff threat triggering backlash, Click Here.)
Guajardo and Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray have been in Washington D.C. for most of the last month conducting negotiations on the 24-year-old trade pact. Trump has never been a fan of the agreement, threatening to eliminate it several times. He’s described it as “the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere, but certainly ever signed in this country.”