By Agence France-Presse
The leftist president-elect spoke as the United States and Canada held down-to-the-wire talks on salvaging the North American Free Trade Agreement, after Mexico and the US sealed their own two-way deal that may or may not end up including Ottawa.
Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a press conference in Mexico City, on July 5, 2018. (AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I hope it will be a three-way deal, like the original,” said Lopez Obrador in a press conference at his offices in Mexico City.
“If we managed to advance in the case of Mexico, there’s no reason to exclude Canada. We hope they’ll reach an understanding.”
Lopez Obrador takes office on December 1, after winning a landslide victory in Mexico’s July elections.
All three members of the original 1994 NAFTA are trying to finish an updated version in time for the US Congress to approve it before he takes office.
The White House plans to notify Congress on Friday of its intention to enter into a new free trade agreement.
For now, that means the two-way deal with Mexico announced on Monday. However, experts question whether President Donald Trump has the authority to substitute a bilateral deal for the original.
Trump, who regularly attacks NAFTA, boasts he reached a “really good” deal with Mexico, but is threatening to leave Canada out of it.
Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a press conference in Mexico City, on July 5, 2018. (AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I hope it will be a three-way deal, like the original,” said Lopez Obrador in a press conference at his offices in Mexico City.
“If we managed to advance in the case of Mexico, there’s no reason to exclude Canada. We hope they’ll reach an understanding.”
Lopez Obrador takes office on December 1, after winning a landslide victory in Mexico’s July elections.
All three members of the original 1994 NAFTA are trying to finish an updated version in time for the US Congress to approve it before he takes office.
The White House plans to notify Congress on Friday of its intention to enter into a new free trade agreement.
For now, that means the two-way deal with Mexico announced on Monday. However, experts question whether President Donald Trump has the authority to substitute a bilateral deal for the original.
Trump, who regularly attacks NAFTA, boasts he reached a “really good” deal with Mexico, but is threatening to leave Canada out of it.