Mexico minister says NAFTA deal will depend on flexibility
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Tuesday that agreeing a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal will depend on the flexibility of negotiations as he prepared to meet his U.S. and Canadian counterparts in Washington.
“Any day that you start (to) walk towards a goal nobody can guarantee that you will achieve it, (it) depends on the commitment and flexibilities around the table,” he told reporters when asked if a deal was imminent.
Guajardo also said there was no need for a separate deal with the United States on steel and aluminum by May 1 when the current exemption on U.S. tariffs expires.
“I think whatever we do has to take into account the kind of commitment that we’re going to do in NAFTA, and definitely, Mexico has been very clear: we will not accept any type of restrictions in aluminum or steel,” he said. (Reporting by David Lawder, Editing by Franklin Paul)