Mexico and the United States congratulated each other after reaching an understanding on modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Monday, according to the office of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
After the two countries’ negotiating teams came to an agreement, Pena Nieto and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump spoke by phone. A statement from the Mexican president’s office said Pena Nieto and Trump “expressed their interest in having Canada rejoin the negotiations to review the bilateral issues between the United States and Canada, with the hope of completing the trilateral negotiations by the end of this week.”
Pena Nieto reiterated the importance of Canada’s participation in the agreement. During a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier Monday, Pena Nieto reinforced the need for Canada’s participation.
Pena Nieto was confident that in the next few days “we will be able to sign and formalize the agreement, modernized, updated and with a competitive framework for North America.”
He said the agreements reached were “the results of a successful negotiation that reflects a balance in the interests of both countries and provides certainty to economic agents.”
In addition, he said, the agreement also “promotes jobs, competitiveness and trade in the region.” Last month, members of president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s transition team joined the talks as observers.
Renegotiation for the modernization of NAFTA began in August 2017 at the insistence of Trump, who called NAFTA the worst agreement signed by the United States. He threatened to withdraw from NAFTA on numerous occasions.
