Push Continues For Updated NAFTA Deal

NAFTA talks are facing a possible turning point this month that will yield either a breakthrough or even the suspension of talks.  Mexico’s Congress wraps up its regular session on April 30th.  The country is widely expected to elect a new anti-NAFTA president on July 1st, and the U.S. holds key mid-term congressional elections in November.  Against that backdrop, the eighth round of NAFTA talks is planned to start om the U.S. soon.  U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer recently told the Senate Finance Committee.

“We’ve already had seven rounds of talks with our partners in Canada and Mexico, and I believe that substantial progress is being made, but we are quickly running out of time if we’re going to have this Congress vote on a final passage.”

There was new optimism recently, when U.S. negotiators dropped a demand that all vehicles bound for the U.S. market from Canada and Mexico contain at least 50% U.S.-made parts.  But other differences remain, including a U.S. proposal to sunset NAFTA.

“If you find yourself in a position at some point, and I would suggest five years is a reasonable period time, where what we gave and what we got is so out of balance it’s reasonable to try to suggest that we try to rebalance it," Lighthizer said.  "Things change, the economy changes.”

The U.S. side is trying to do that in current talks, including on Mexican produce and Canada’s restrictive dairy pricing system and barriers to poultry, though talks have been successful on plant and animal sanitary standards.  The U.S. has set a May 1st deadline for NAFTA talks, after which the White House could renew the threat of steel tariffs against Canada and Mexico, or at least suspend talks, pushing negotiations into next year.

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