A tough U.S. proposal on bilateral sugar trade with Mexico sets a bad precedent for an impending renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the head of Mexico's sugar chamber, Juan Cortina, said on Tuesday.
The U.S. sugar industry pressed the Commerce Department late last year to withdraw from a 2014 trade agreement that sets prices and quota for U.S. imports of Mexican sugar unless the deal could be renegotiated.
The new proposal for modifying the 2014 agreement, which seeks to increase minimum prices for refined Mexican sugar and adjust quality requirements, would essentially push Mexican exporters out of the U.S. market, said Cortina, who sits on the Mexican negotiating team.
Bilateral trade relations are under strain as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to renegotiate the NAFTA pact with Mexico and Canada and to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and have Mexico pay for it.
"This is a very bad precedent for upcoming (NAFTA) negotiations if we can't reach an agreement," said Cortina, speaking at a news conference.
Mexico and the United States last week extended a deadline to June 5 to reach an agreement on how much Mexican refined and crude sugar can enter the United States.
Source: www.reuters.com