The United States, Canada and Mexico wrapped up their first round of talks on Sunday to revamp the NAFTA trade pact, vowing to keep up a blistering pace of negotiations that some involved in the process said may be too fast to bridge deep differences.
In a joint statement issued at the end of five days of negotiations in Washington, the top trade officials from the three countries said Mexico would host the next round of talks from September 1 to 5.
The talks will move to Canada later in September, then return to the United States in October, with additional rounds planned for later this year, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
“While a great deal of effort and negotiation will be required in the coming months, Canada, Mexico and the United States are committed to an accelerated and comprehensive negotiation process that will upgrade our agreement,” the officials said.
One person directly involved in the talks described the schedule as exceedingly fast, given that past trade deals took years to negotiate.
The three countries are trying to complete a full modernisation of the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement by early 2018, before Mexico’s national election campaign starts.
In the opening NAFTA session of talks, the US did not give precise details of how much it wanted to boost North American content for autos, a source directly familiar with the negotiations said.
Lighthizer last week said Washington wanted tougher rules of origin for autos, which determine how much of a vehicle must be built in the three NAFTA nations.
He also said the United States was seeking new measures to ensure “substantial US content” for autos.
Companies wishing to take advantage of free trade in goods guaranteed by NAFTA must currently meet the 62.5% North American content requirement for autos and 60% for components.
But during the opening four-hour round of talks on rules of origin on Friday, the US delegation did not give details of how much it wanted the requirements to be lifted by. It also did not give a specific figure for what substantial US content for autos could mean, said the source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
US officials said on Saturday that they could not confirm the source’s account.
Agreement on a revised Nafta agreement could pivot on the autos sector given its weight in trade.
The United States had autos and auto parts trade deficits of $74bn with Mexico and $5.6bn with Canada last year, both major components of overall US goods trade deficits with its North American neighbours.