The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, April 20, edition that NAFTA renegotiations remain deadlocked over the Trump administration's demand for new rules to encourage automotive jobs in the United States at the expense of Mexico -- even as Washington pushes for a deal by the end of the month.
The Globe's Greg Keenan and Adrian Morrow write that Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland hunkered down with U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo on Thursday in a bid to break the impasse.
Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Videgaray also flew to Washington for talks with Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law.
The U.S. is demanding changes to the North American free-trade agreement's "rules of origin" governing the automotive sector. Those rules will dictate how much NAFTA-zone content vehicles must contain to qualify for tariff-free shipping between the three countries.
The toughest proposal is one that would require some auto parts to be made in factories where workers earn above a specific threshold.
Mexico is resisting the demand.
Ms. Freeland struck a hopeful note, saying the countries had made "good progress" on the auto file.
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.