Trump says NAFTA talks going 'nicely,'
Canada sees progress on auto rules
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[April 25, 2018]
By David Lawder and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President
Donald Trump said on Tuesday a new North American Free Trade Agreement
could be agreed on quickly, as Canada hailed progress on forging new
rules for the auto industry, the pivotal issue in talks to revamp the
24-year-old accord.
Ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico responsible for
NAFTA met in Washington to try to narrow differences on regional content
rules for autos in the hope of tying up a deal in the coming days.
"NAFTA, as you know, is moving along. They (Mexico) have an election
coming up very soon," Trump said at a Cabinet meeting briefly attended
by reporters.
"But we're doing very nicely with NAFTA. I could make a deal really
quickly, but I'm not sure that's in the best interests of the United
States. But we'll see what happens," he said.
While details are still being negotiated, a new NAFTA is likely to push
the region's automakers to source more parts from North America in order
to create more jobs. Such an outcome could also raise costs for
Detroit's main car manufacturers.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, leaving a 3-1/2-hour
meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, said there was
progress on autos, which she described as "the heart" of NAFTA.
"Rules of origin for autos is fiendishly complex," Freeland told
reporters. "We are very, very focused right now on digging into some of
the details, being sure that there are no unintended consequences, being
sure we get things right."
She added there were other major issues that needed to be addressed in
the NAFTA talks expected to continue for several days in Washington,
such as dispute-settlement mechanisms.
Freeland, Lighthizer and Mexico's Ildefonso Guajardo are pressing for a
quick deal to avoid clashing with Mexico's July 1 presidential election.
Trump's negotiators initially demanded North American-built vehicles
contain 85 percent content made in NAFTA countries by value, up from
62.5 percent now. But industry officials say that has been cut to about
75 percent, with certain components coming from areas with higher wages.
PUSHBACK
Trump fanned uncertainty again on Monday by threatening to tie a NAFTA
deal to Mexico's immigration controls, a suggestion the Mexican
government quickly dismissed.
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Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican Economy
Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer take part in a joint news conference on the closing of
the seventh round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City, Mexico March 5,
2018. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
Mexico, which at the outset of the Trump presidency said it would
treat the NAFTA revamp as part of a general review of its relations
with the United States, has pushed back in the talks by threatening
to become less cooperative with Washington.
Two weeks ago, Mexico vowed to analyze all cooperation with the
United States. The government on Tuesday circulated an official's
letter to the Mexican Senate saying President Enrique Pena Nieto
would soon consider the findings of the review.
Arriving for talks with Lighthizer, Guajardo said flexibility would
be needed to reach a deal. He said Mexico would not accept any U.S.
tariffs on aluminum or steel - another measure Trump has threatened
to tie to NAFTA. A U.S. exemption to tariffs ends on by May 1.
Negotiators say a new NAFTA could be possible by early May.
"In the coming 10 days, we can really have a new agreement in
principle," said Moises Kalach, head of the international
negotiating arm of the CCE business lobby, which represents the
Mexican private sector at the talks.
"As soon as there is political will from the American government to
go for a final deal, I think we can close this," Kalach told Mexican
radio. "We've had all our (negotiating) teams in Washington for two
weeks and we will continue working all this week, the weekend and
into next week."
(Reporting by David Lawder and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by
Anthony Esposito, Dave Graham and Veronica Gomez in Mexico City;
Editing by Grant McCool and Peter Cooney)
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