The election of the new Mexican president adds more uncertainty to the NAFTA negotiations

OTTAWA – The future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations has been fraught with uncertainty with the election of a new member. new president in Mexico on July 1st.

Mexico's President-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is in favor of concluding an agreement on the renegotiation of NAFTA with the United States and Canada

but the NAFTA talks have been stalled for several weeks. The United States has intensified as both countries have become involved in a trade dispute.

After the elections, Lopez Obrador said he would propose that his own team of experts be included in the trade negotiations. The successful candidate said that he would make this proposal at a meeting on Tuesday with current President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Lopez Obrador told Televisa that he will respect the current team of negotiators and let them continue to represent Mexico until he takes office. 1, noting that he wants to have information about what is being discussed and "help as much as we can."

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he expected to keep in touch with the outgoing Mexican president, but hopes to work closely with the country's new president for [19659003] But with Trump's inflammatory rhetoric, Canada's retaliatory tariffs against the United States and a left-wing Mexican anti-establishment president ready to join the fray, the Some believe that the negotiations of the North American free trade may have been pending for a long time.

On July 2, a day after the counter-tariffs came into effect, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: "Nothing helps Canada and does nothing but harm." to American workers.

"We have been very kind to Canada for many years and have benefited from it," Sanders said during his daily press briefing in Washington

. The president is trying to repair the faulty system and he will continue to press for it. "

The Trump administration accused Canada of being a threat to national security by imposing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in June. Canada fought back with $ 16.6 billion in counter-tariffs and the mid-term elections in the United States are in the fall. According to Mr. Moshe Lander, an economist at Concordia University, all these factors are in deadlock

"I do not see how (Trudeau) will achieve this result," he said. I do not see how he can find an acceptable deal for a left-wing populist, a right-wing populist and for our country who claims that feelings of guilt are the basis of negotiations. I think NAFTA is dormant for the next six to twelve months. "

Trudeau was working closely with Pena Nieto on NAFTA and spoke with him about the deal just before Friday's election. During this conversation, they "reaffirmed their close friendship" and agreed to continue working for a mutually beneficial outcome on the trade agreement, said the Prime Minister while reading the conversation.

new president in the hope of maintaining a united approach with Mexico when negotiations resume with the United States.

"Canada and Mexico are close friends and long-term partners, sharing common goals, strong interpersonal relationships and a mutually beneficial business relationship that is the envy of the world – reflected in our efforts spouses to update the North American Free Trade Agreement for the 21st century, "Trudeau said.Minear Trudeau then spoke with Lopez Obrador on Monday, where he discussed their business interests and their "shared priority to update the North American Free Trade Agreement for the betterment of their peoples," said Lopez Obrador, who also congratulated Lopez Obrador on his victory. election, but the US president also said in an interview this weekend that he was counting on not signing a new NAFTA agreement before the mid-term elections of last autumn.

Files from the Associated Press.

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