Officials from Mexico visiting Washington, D.C. this week are sporting a clear message that a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement will not include any new tariffs or quotas. The group from Mexico hopes to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer later this week to start the first talks of renegotiation, which they say is expected to happen quickly. Mexico’s Economy Secretary told Politico: “Nobody wants this agreement, this negotiation, to extend for too long because then it will get in the middle of the Mexican presidential election and the U.S. congressional election.” A speedy renegotiation would minimize chances of Mexico from rejecting any agreement, if the negotiators can finish the process by the July 2018 presidential election in Mexico. A graphic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows the 1994 NAFTA agreement represented a $4 billion increase in agricultural exports.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.
