Mexican NAFTA Negotiators Call Meeting With US 'Very Productive'

The bilateral meeting between Mexico and the U.S. on July 26 was very productive, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said, saying it was evident that the chief NAFTA negotiator for the next administration and U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer have a rapport, as they have known each other for years. Jesus Seade, who represents Mexico's president-elect, was the ambassador for Mexico's delegation to the World Trade Organization at the same time Lighthizer worked in Geneva.

Seade said in Spanish, "[Lighthizer] is a person that I respect a lot." He also said that while the two sides discussed significant questions, there was no big movement on any issue. The current administration is in charge of negotiations, but Seade noted "we are a team."

Guajardo said in Spanish that they analyzed with Lighthizer "the methods, processes, exchanges and the compromises of the working teams on specific subjects." He reminded the reporters outside the USTR headquarters that nine chapters are closed, and said 10 other chapters are practically closed. Like Lighthizer said earlier to Congress (see 1807260029), Guajardo noted that in order to have the present Mexican administration sign an agreement in principle, it would have to be concluded by Aug. 25.

Guajardo did not endorse Lighthizer's earlier comment that Mexico is being more compromising than Canada is, and therefore, it makes sense to conclude U.S.-Mexico negotiations first. "As you remember, [Canada's Foreign] Minister [Chrystia] Freeland was in Mexico this week, and we had a very productive meeting analyzing the Mexico-Canada issues and the status of trilateral discussions." He said most of the Mexico-Canada issues have advanced. "Therefore the most important issues in this discussion are U.S. vis-a-vis Canada, U.S. vis-a-vis Mexico," he said.

He said he could not predict whether an agreement can be reached in the next month, though he said it is possible. "It is very difficult for anybody who negotiates to make an assessment of that kind until you really get your hands on the solutions," he said. Seade agreed, switching into English to say it's "too early to say" what will happen. But, he said in Spanish, "it was the first day of classes with a new student. I’m very pleased. It was good."