WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The text of the Trump administration’s trade agreement with Mexico is due to be released on Friday, launching a contentious approval process as pressure mounts on Canada to sign a revamping of the trilateral NAFTA pact. FILE PHOTO: A car hauler heading for Detroit, Michigan, drives on the lane to Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo
Mexico’s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo was scheduled to present the long-awaited document to Mexico’s Senate at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT), Mexican government and Senate sources said.
U.S. lawmakers briefed by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Thursday said they expected the text to largely exclude language related to Canada, but added they were still hoping for Canada to join.
They expressed little optimism a deal with Canada could be reached quickly. U.S. and Canadian negotiators have spent several weeks trying to overcome disagreement over dairy trade and dispute settlement resolutions in talks to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The deal underpins $1.2 trillion in trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico, and financial markets are nervous that key supply chains could unravel if Washington and Ottawa fail to reach an agreement.
Some U.S. Democratic lawmakers said they could not support a NAFTA trade deal without Canada.
“Canada is exceptionally important. I think it would be malpractice, both for economic and political reasons, not to have a major agreement with Canada,” said Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the tax and trade Senate Finance Committee.“I […]
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