Days before negotiations for the new NAFTA are due to resume, Mexico launched an interactive website, NAFTA Works, “to further circulate the perceivable benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement.” Mexico is the third-largest market for U.S. food and ag exports and is the largest source of agricultural imports.
The website trumpets “5 MILLION U.S. JOBS depend on trade with Mexico” and allows visitors to look at the agricultural or industrial impact of the three-nation trade zone, or to view the overall contribution of NAFTA to each U.S. state. Meanwhile, it points out in a headline that if NAFTA is scrapped, “Mexico trade war puts 1 in 33 California jobs at risk.”
Agricultural trade is among the undecided issues in the negotiations, which could run past the Trump administration goal of an agreement by the end of March. The United States wants Canada to phase out its supply management system for dairy, poultry and eggs; a nonstarter for Canadians. Florida produce growers want more protection against Mexican fruit and vegetables.