Mexico’s economy minister Ildefonso Guajardo does not agree with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s assessments that if the United Stated pulls out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that would be devastating for Mexico.
“Without a doubt, Mexico could face a short-term impact because the market is very sensitive to marketing, branding … Our ability to adjust, and the manner in which we do it, is what will allow us to resist any potential change,” Guajardo said.
He added that if NAFTA talks end up stretching into March, the U.S. should ask itself if it wants the talks to influence Mexico general election, scheduled for July 2018. The fifth round of NAFTA talks is currently underway. Guajadro announced that his country will propose that the Agreement is reviewed every five years to counter a U.S. “sunset clause” proposal that would put an end to the deal if it is not renegotiated after five years, Reuters reported. According to the Mexican minister, the proposal is a more rigorous evaluation mechanism. The current rules say that each member can leave the agreement at any time.
Guajardo, who was part of Mexico’s NAFTA negotiating team, does not believe that U.S. President Donald Trump would trigger the existing deal’s termination clause later this year, but says that that could happen in the first quarter of the next year. Previously, Ross told The Wall Street Journal that a U.S. withdrawal would be devastating to the Mexican economy and that it is a big-time problem for Canada.
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