U.S. Targets NAFTA Agreement this Month

Envoys from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. will reconvene next Monday in hopes of reaching agreement on updates to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer tells reporters he hopes to wrap up the details before the end of May. Whether that is feasible isn’t clear, since reports indicate continuing strong disagreement over such pivotal issues as local content requirements.

Observers note that politics will become an increasing issue this summer and could jeopardize any deal based upon the past eight months of negotiations. Lighthizer says talks to date have aimed at shaping a deal that satisfies the current Congress.

Many pundits believe that November’s congressional elections will shift control of the House of Representative from Republican to Democrat. Lighthizer hopes to get an updated NAFTA deal ratified before the new Congress convenes in January.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s support for a deal also could be changed by results of the country’s presidential election on July 1. That is about when U.S. congressional reelection campaigns will gear up.