Versión Español
EspañolThe United States has new, controversial proposals planned for the upcoming round of renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Mexico and Canada aren’t so keen on.
The US is reportedly planning to propose the establishment of “seasonal windows” in exchange for agricultural goods from Mexico and Canada. The proposal would be a form of managed trade, establishing seasonal restrictions on imports in North America.
Mexico’s negotiators have reportedly gotten word of the planned suggestion with a resoundingly negative response.
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“They want to propose conditions saying that in the season when Georgia produces strawberries or berries, Mexico is not going to be able to export, or we are going to have an equal percentage,” Bosco de la Vega, President of the National Agriculture and Livestock Council, said.
Currently, agricultural products that have been traded between Mexico and the United States are exempt from taxes. Trade hasn’t been limited to a seasonal window since 2008, when a period of 15 years of gradual reduction was established.
“The Mexican government and producers are in the same line, that is, they’re not even considering the possibility of discussing it, because it is against not only NAFTA principles, but the very rules of the World Trade Organization ( WTO),” Raul Urtiaga, general coordinator of International Affairs, said.
Both De la Vega and Urtiaga pointed out that there are groups in the United States in which traders, importers and producers of some raw materials — such as grains exported to Mexico — would be hurt by the proposal coming out of Washington.
“It is a situation that we will not accept. It’s like the great pressure that I bring from the Mexican corn, wheat, sorghum, beef and pork producers,” De la Vega said, referring to criticisms that farmers have made about NAFTA.
Source: El Economista, El Financiero.
