“Negotiations were tough, but there was a consensus about the end game,” recalled Antonio Ortiz-Mena, a member of Mexico’s negotiating team. Those sectors were largely left out of the original trade deal because in Mexico they were still under government control when NAFTA took force in 1994. They have since been privatized, and Mexican officials and industry leaders hope to include provisions in the new deal that will encourage more foreign investment in those industries. But Lighthizer’s July letter to Congress outlining the administration’s intentions suggest Trump is now seeking a revision of NAFTA, rather than its destruction. Back then, NAFTA proponents in all three countries faced strong fears back home that the deal would hurt local economies.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 14, 2017 09:56 UTC