MEXICO CITY, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) though complex is good for Mexico, the country's foreign minister said Friday.
"It's a very positive agreement that preserves the freedom of trade of North America, the integration of our three economies, and it gives quite a lot of certainty for Mexican workers and businesses," Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said.
The minister stressed that the agreement is not final and the Senate has the final word.
After meeting with legislators, Videgaray added that the Mexican government will continue to seek "the elimination of tariffs on steel and aluminum placed on Mexico and Canada" before signing the USMCA.
"This is something the economy ministry is working on. Just as minister (Ildefonso) Guajardo has said, it's an issue that should be resolved and can be resolved before signing the trade agreement with the United States and Canada," he said to the Senate.
On Friday, Videgaray met with the president of the Senate Marti Batres and Ricardo Monreal, president of the Senate's political coordination council.
The purpose of the meeting was to analyze the results of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations.
The USMCA, with 30 chapters, will now be reviewed by the congresses of the three countries and is expected to be signed by the three governments by the end of November if approved.
Negotiations to modernize NAFTA began in August 2017 as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw from the trilateral trade deal, arguing that it harmed U.S. industries and jobs.
