Mexico’s economy minister on Thursday said the country needed to finish bilateral negotiations with the U.S., possibly this week or next, before Canada re-joins talks over a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement.
This story by Reuters appeared in Automotive News Canada.
The U.S.-Mexico NAFTA talks resumed last week, without Canada at the table, after negotiations involving all three members of one of the world’s largest trade blocs stalled in June.
Asked by reporters whether Canada would take part next week in the talks, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said “possibly.”
“But we have to make sure that the U.S.-Mexico bilaterals (are) done,” he said, on his way into a second day of meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington.
Mexico and the U.S. have been discussing rules for the auto sector, which has been a major point of contention between the two countries.
