(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The United States, Mexico and Canada dove into the details of revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement at a second round of talks on Friday, amid threats from President Donald Trump to axe the deal.
After setting an ambitious "accelerated" calendar during the first round - held in Washington last month - negotiators got down to the nitty gritty of updating the 1,700-page deal as five days of closed-door talks opened at Mexico City.
There are 25 issues on the agenda for this round, each being discussed at a separate roundtable, including e-commerce, the environment, anti-corruption measures, investment and access to property markets.
The thorny issue of "rules of origin" is also on the list, the Mexican economy ministry said.
The United States is pushing to change these rules, including those governing the hotly-debated auto sector. It wants to require a certain percentage of cars' components to be built in the US in order to remain duty-free.
Few details were expected to emerge from the discussions. All three countries have agreed to keep mum on specifics until the talks conclude after an estimated seven to nine rounds. Trump, who demanded the renegotiation, says Nafta has been disastrous for US industry and jobs.
He doubled down on his anti-Nafta rhetoric in the build-up to the second round, saying Mexico was "being difficult" and the United States would "end up probably terminating" the deal.
Mexico, which sends 80 per cent of its exports to the United States, has dismissed such threats as posturing. But it says it has a Plan B just in case, focused on diversifying its export destinations.
Trump himself has sent mixed signals about the deal.
On Thursday, he and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke on the phone and "stressed their hope to reach an agreement by the end of this year," according to the White House.
Most experts say Nafta is likely to survive with modest changes - though with Trump, nothing is certain, they warn.
However, the Republican president may ultimately have little room to manoeuver, no matter how much he hates the $64 billion US trade deficit with Mexico: some 14 million US jobs depend on trade with Mexico and Canada, according to the US Chamber of Commerce.
"As long as discussions on the technical issues are moving forward, it's a good sign. We hope to separate the political issues from the technical issues," said Moises Kalach of Mexico's Business Coordinating Council.
MENAFN0309201700490000ID1095812362
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.