Mexico and the United States are starting talks to revise the North American free trade agreement, officials said Wednesday, with negotiations overshadowed by tariff pressure from US President Donald Trump and cross-border security issues.
The US-Mexico-Canada agreement is vital for the Mexican economy as the US accounts for over 80 percent of its exports.
The treaty is set to be updated every six years. The first round of the bilateral talks, being held in Mexico City, will run until Friday.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday she was optimistic the neighbors could reach an agreement.
“It is going to be a very productive dialogue,” she said, noting that Economic Secretary Marcelo Ebrard had met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer the previous evening.
Ebrard said in a statement the talks aim to “identify concrete results benefiting the region.”
“Mexico and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation in favor of a more integrated, dynamic, and robust North America,” he added.
Greer’s office said in a news release that the talks “will feature negotiations on economic security and rules of origin for key industrial goods.”
“The negotiations will focus on ensuring that the USMCA benefits US manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, workers, and service suppliers, and businesses of all size, including our small and medium-sized enterprises,” it added.
Future rounds of negotiations will take place in Washington in June, then Mexico City in July.
The agreement between the three countries is being revised this year for the first time since its implementation in 2020.
– Tensions and threats –
Trump’s threats to pull the United States from the agreement, arguing it doesn’t benefit the US economy, have overshadowed the first round of discussions.
US media have reported that Trump told advisors in February he wanted to exit USMCA after accusing Mexico of opening the door for Chinese products in the region.
The tense trade negotiations come as Washington places increasing pressure on Sheinbaum to crack down on organized crime.
The US in late April requested the arrest and extradition of 10 politicians in Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party.
At the heart of the indictment was former Sinaloa governor Ruben Rocha Moya, who took a leave of absence days after the US accused him of protecting the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel.
Ties were also strained last month after two American officials reportedly CIA agents died in a car crash while accompanying soldiers and prosecutors in a raid of a drug lab in the northern state of Chihuahua.
Sheinbaum has ordered an investigation, saying the operation may have violated national security laws preventing unauthorized foreign agents from operating inside Mexico.
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