US, Mexico close in on new trade pact

The US and Mexico are likely to announce a new trade agreement in coming days, a Mexican official said Sunday — clearing the path for Canada to join the pact by September.

“I would say that we’re practically in the final hours of this negotiation,” Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told reporters before his meeting with US counterpart Robert Lighthizer, according to Reuters.

The negotiations, taking place in Washington DC, appeared to be close to resolving just days after President Trump signaled that negotiations were going well.

“Our relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour. Some really good people within both the new and old government, and all working closely together....A big Trade Agreement with Mexico could be happening soon!” Trump tweeted Saturday.

The major sticking point for the negotiations have been tariffs on automotives and parts that are made in Mexico.

The Trump administration appears to have agreed to limiting an increase in tariffs, to 25 percent, to cars that are manufactured in new plants, and grandfathering existing factories to lower tariffs, according to a Bloomberg report.

By Sunday, though, the US and its southern neighbor were still work- ing on the final details of the bill.

“We’ll see clearly how things advance …. It’s going to be a long day. We have 12 hours, and midnight also counts. We’ll do everything possible to try to land a deal,” Guajardo said.

The two North American countries are racing to enshrine the deal by September, before Mexican President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who opposes part of the deal, would have to sign off on it.