U.S. drops Mexico seasonality provision in NAFTA talks - FreshFruitPortal.com

U.S. drops Mexico seasonality provision in NAFTA talks

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U.S. drops Mexico seasonality provision in NAFTA talks

The U.S. has reportedly dropped a contentious demand from the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to impose restrictions on Mexican agricultural exports, Reuters reported, citing Mexicoā€™s top farm lobby.

Talks to rework the 24-year-old pact are entering a crucial phase and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said outstanding bilateral issues between Mexico and the U.S. could be resolved this week.

One divisive issue has been a proposal by the Trump administration to put seasonal curbs on some agricultural exports to the U.S. But a senior executive at Mexicoā€™s National Agricultural Council (CNA) reportedly said on Sunday that had been dropped.

ā€œOur U.S. counterparts tell us that ... the United States has decided to withdraw (the proposal) from the table,ā€ Mario Andrade, CNA vice president for foreign trade, told Reuters.

Mexicoā€™s Economy Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Andradeā€™s remarks. A spokeswoman for the office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer could not immediately be reached for comment.

Andrade said the move followed a lobbying effort that sought to show that the ā€œseasonalityā€ demand stood to benefit a small fraction of U.S. agricultural producers while putting many other U.S. farmers at risk from Mexican retaliation, Reuters reported.

Much of the renegotiation, which has gone on for more than a year, has focused on revamping rules for the automotive industry. The U.S. government wants the rules changed to try to secure more business for American manufacturing workers.

 

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