Mexican Economic Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Thursday that a tentative deal on a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement might be reached by the end of this week but also warned that a deal may not be possible after this week.
“I think we will be finding out through the day and tomorrow… if we really have what it takes to be able to land these things in the short run. We are finding out that possibility,” Guajardo told Reuters.
Guajardo is in Washington D.C. attending negotiations with his counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The talks have lately been hung up over issues relating to Mexican auto production. The Trump administration has pushed Mexico to increase wages to those factory workers, arguing that cheap labor has resulted in U.S. companies outsourcing production. Mexico has resisted giving up its advantage in labor costs.
The Mexican economic minister said that was an issue but not the only one, and said he was prepared for an extended stay in D.C. to complete the deal. “It’s not only the autos. You cannot think that in a process of negotiations we’re going to solve one item without reviewing the overall balance of the agreement. We’re going over all the items. It’s very important to stress that.”
Mexico is under pressure to complete a deal before July 1, when the country holds its presidential election. Polls show the opposition party is likely to win.
