On September 30, the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States announced a new trilateral pact that will replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. The new USMCA deal will still need congressional approval from all three countries, but the inclusion of Canada in the agreement is a victory in and of itself. "There is bipartisan agreement in Congress and also an agreement between the business community and labor that without Canada there was not going to be a whole lot there," said AS/COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth.

Panelistas:

• Raúl Padilla, Presidente de América del Sur y Sugar & Bioenergy, Bunge Limited
• Gustavo Rincón, Vicepresidente Mercosur, Kellogg Company
• Carlos Zarlenga, Presidente, General Motors Mercosur
• Patricia Menéndez-Cambó, Vicepresidenta, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Un panel de empresarios en la conferencia de AS/COA en Buenos Aires habló de las oportunidades y los desafíos que enfrentan sus industrias respectivas en Argentina. Para Gustavo Rincón, el Cono Sur es una de las principales apuestas de Latinoamérica ya que 10 millones de personas han entrado a la clase media. En términos de las exportaciones de materias primas, Raúl Padilla es optimista que el año que viene será mejor después de superar una sequía histórica en Argentina que sacudió al sector. Carlos Zarlenga habló de la evolución tecnológica que está experimentando el sector automotriz, con el aumento en carros eléctricos representando una oportunidad para Argentina, que es uno de los países con la mayor reserva de litio.

Vea más videos de la conferencia.

Speakers:

• Arturo Sarukhan, President, Sarukhan & Associates LLC; Former Mexican Ambassador to the U.S.
• Bruce Andrews, Managing Director, Rock Creek Global Advisors; Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce
• Miriam Sapiro, Managing Director and Vice Chairman, SVC Public Affairs; Former Acting U.S. Trade Representative

NAFTA negotiations could conclude as soon as the end of August, but even if they don't, incoming Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has signaled his commitment to a successful renegotiation. Panelists at a Washington, DC event discussed the challenges that would remain in ratifying the pact under each country’s Congress, areas where AMLO's views on trade overlap with those of U.S. President Donald Trump, and how Mexico should continue to diversify its trade ties overall—especially with China. “If I were the Mexican president, I would start flirting with the Chinese a little bit more, especially as the United States becomes an unreliable partner,” said Bruce Andrews.

Learn more about AMLO in our Mexico Election Guide.

What difference does it make if NAFTA negotiations happen with just two countries present or all three? For Council of the Americas Vice President Eric Farnsworth, it can completely change the dynamics of the ongoing talks. “We’re not just three countries in a region. We are North America. The way these supply chains and production have gone together since NAFTA has passed means we are a fully integrated economy. So it’s difficult to disagragate these economies from each other,” he said in an appearance on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas.”

Farnworth said the U.S. government might be trying to gain leverage in negotiations by separating the meetings with Mexico and Canada, but politics mainly with the former may take a turn after Mexico's July 1 presidential election. He pointed out that cooperation on security, counter-narcotics, and immigration programs are all, he said, “issues where there is a fluid exchange with Mexico. And that depends on trust and goodwill.”