Ag Policy Blog

Mexico, Canada Want NAFTA Talks Finished by Year End

Jerry Hagstrom
By  Jerry Hagstrom , DTN Political Correspondent

The Mexican ambassador to the United States said Tuesday that Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico’s incoming president, wants the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations to be completed before he takes office on December 1 and the Canadian deputy ambassador said Canada would welcome the agreement’s completion this year.

At the Politico Summit, Mexican Ambassador to the United States Geronimo Gutierrez Fernandez said that Lopez Obrador is working with the current Mexican administration on the issue.

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Gutiérrez also said that the issue of the U.S. trade deficit should be resolved by more trade, including possible Mexican purchases of U.S. products that it now gets from China.

On President Donald Trump’s conflicts over NAFTA, Gutiérrez said that with all the stresses in other parts of the world it is questionable to complicate the relations of the North American countries.

“Look at the concern in the ag sector in the U.S.,” he said.

Kirsten Hillman, the Canadian deputy ambassador to Washington, said Canada would also welcome completion of the talks by the end of the year.

Hillman also repeated previous statements that getting rid of Canada’s supply management system for dairy is unacceptable. She also noted that Canada is the second largest export market for U.S. dairy products after Mexico and that those products enter Canada duty-free.

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