MEXICO/NAFTA/TRADE DEALS: “Mexico’s leftist presidential hopeful, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement should be suspended until the country’s election next year, and he warned he would renegotiate any deal that harms Mexico’s interests if he wins the vote…
His remarks came as government officials from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada prepared to meet Friday [9-1-17] in Mexico City for the second round of talks on Nafta’s overhaul. Mexican and U.S. government officials have said they want to complete renegotiations before the end of the year.
But those talks will become more difficult for the Mexican government the closer the presidential vote gets, as the issues at stake become campaign fodder…
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed skepticism about a renegotiation and reiterated he could terminate the trade deal. On Wednesday in Missouri, President Trump criticized the Nafta deal as ‘horrible, terrible’ and blamed it for taking away American jobs.
Mexican officials were concerned enough about Mr. Trump’s recent statements that Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray flew to Washington to meet on Wednesday with senior White House officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Trump aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Mr. Videgaray told reporters that Mexico would leave the talks if the U.S. began formal proceedings to withdraw from Nafta. Mr. Trump has the authority to unilaterally withdraw from the deal by giving a six-month notice.”
-Santiago Perez, “Mexican Presidential Hopeful Calls for Nafta Talks to Be Suspended,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 30, 2017 07:52pm