The tide of the political environment in the US is now reaching overseas. In an amazing turn, Mexico is willing to hold talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement, President Enrique Pena Nieto said. That in itself provides proof that the Trump administration will indeed review treaties and trade agreements previously negotiated.
Mexico President Nieto made his remarks in Lima, Peru at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Saturday. While defending the NAFTA agreement, he said that for every dollar that Mexico exports, North American materials account for 40 cents. “Globalization generates more benefits than harm,” he said. Trump has not made public comments about Nieto’s statements.
Nieto continued, “We’re at the stage of prioritizing dialogue as the path through which we may be able to establish a new agenda for bilateral relations. More than talking about renegotiating NAFTA, it’s modernizing NAFTA. Let’s modernize NAFTA so it becomes a more powerful, modern vehicle.”
The controversial NAFTA agreement was signed to establish the trade deal with Mexico and Canada. It was approved, over many lawmaker objections by the U.S. Senate in 1993. It was then signed and went into effect in 1994.
Trump earlier described the NAFTA agreement as the worst deal ever, blaming it for U.S. job losses. He even brought it up during his debates with Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, and perhaps the cause of a change of heart by the Mexican government, the peso dropped as much as 12 percent to record low levels following Trump’s election. Donald Trump said he is prepared to renegotiate or reject NAFTA, boost tariffs, and build a wall along that U.S.-Mexico border that Mexico would be forced to pay for.
