Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pointed a finger at special interest groups, including those in agriculture, as reason for hiccups in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiation.
Ross earlier this week said the U.S. will “continue to take a hard line” on its proposals as talks get under way in Mexico City. Speaking at an event Tuesday, Ross said the negotiating environment has only grown more complicated because of industries like agriculture that have voiced a greater level of concern over the direction the administration is taking. Specifically, Ross said: “As one special interest group, say agriculture, for example, gets nervous, they start screaming and yelling publicly.” He says action from special interest groups “complicates the environment” and “makes the negotiations harder.”
However, the administration has continually threatened to remove the U.S. from NAFTA, a move agriculture groups call an economic disaster.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.