New NAFTA Deal Could Pay For U.S.-Mexico Border Wall
Tensions about the future of NAFTA are running high as the three countries that are subject to the agreement prepare to re-enter negotiations. While President Donald Trump has reiterated threats to pull out of the pact, more recently he has expressed interest in negotiating new terms that could help finance the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Mexico has denied the possibility of this occurring, with Mexico Chief NAFTA Negotiator Kenneth Smith Ramos writing in a Twitter post that the border wall payment would never be part of negotiations, Bloomberg reports.
At the same time, Canadian government officials have expressed cynicism about the possibility that all parties will be able to reach an agreement at all, and estimate the likelihood of Trump quitting the pact entirely is more than 50%.
While a renegotiation of the pact could benefit the U.S. economy, it could also negatively impact the industrial and logistics sectors by disrupting the flow of goods and materials with America's biggest trade partners.
Talks are set to resume Jan. 23 in Montreal, though this could be delayed until after the presidential election in Mexico, which is slated to take place in July.
