The top U.S. trade official says he’s optimistic a NAFTA agreement could be reached soon, in a race against the clock to complete negotiations before political delays set in.
This story by the Canadian Press appeared in Automotive News Canada.
U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer made the remark in an interview on CNBC and cited forthcoming elections in Mexico and the U.S. Congress as the reason for the sudden rush.
If there’s no deal in the next several weeks, the Trump administration fears that those votes will kick the talks into 2019 and make it harder to reach an agreement.
In an effort to get that deal, the U.S. appears to have backed away from one of its most contentious demands and is no longer insisting that 50 per cent of cars be made in the U.S. and is now floating a different formula based on autoworker salaries.
An agreement in principle would allow the U.S. administration to launch a consultative process with Congress, which lasts more than six months before a ratification vote can be held.
Beyond next month, it would become impossible for any deal to obtain ratification votes in 2018. Then early next year a new Congress will be sworn in, which could be controlled by the opposition Democrats depending on the result of midterm elections. In addition, Mexico will have a new president in December.
