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Trade agreement favors Mexico, Yucatan business leaders say

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Mérida, Yucatán — Business leaders from Yucatan agreed that the tentative Mexico-United States trade agreement is favorable for the country, but they consider it essential that a trilateral treaty be maintained.

The agreement reached between Mexico and the United States is an incentive for investment and development of both countries, but more for Mexico, said Michel Salum Francis, president of the Business Coordinating Council of Yucatán (CCE).

The president of the Mérida National Chamber of Commerce (Canacome) said that now we must wait for Canada to sign on.

After 24 years, the administration of Donald Trump demanded a revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and after several months of work and negotiations an agreement was announced by the presidents of both the U.S. and Mexico.

“The bilateral agreement is an incentive for the investment and development of the country, since it gives us a more accurate picture of the financial future. Now we hope that Canada will soon join in order to preserve the trilateral treaty,” said Salum Francis.

The Canacome leader endorsed his organizations’s national statement, which described as positive the commercial understanding reached by Mexico and the United States, since it generates certainty in the national economy and reduces the volatility of the peso against the dollar, among other factors.

“The Concanaco celebrates that an understanding has been reached between Mexico and the United States, because, without a doubt, this will generate benefits for the Mexican economy,” he explained.

He added that it is essential for Canada to join the negotiations to maintain a trilateral treaty.

For his part, José Antonio Loret de Mola Gomory, head of the Coparmex in Mérida, stressed that everything indicates that the agreement is something favorable for our country.

“Don’t forget that this agreement has a tri-party origin and not just two countries, so we believe that it is fundamental for the country to respect that the treaty is between the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is clear that the Mexican negotiators have done an extraordinary job, both the outgoing federal government, the businessmen who have occupied each of the tables to which we were called and now the elected government personnel,” he said.

Loret de Mola Gomory recognized that the majority of Mexico’s trade is with the United States, but the union of Canada would make North America stronger, since the northernmost country has technological development, particularly in the aeronautic sector.

The agreement, he said, not only benefits the Yucatecans, but all Mexican consumers, since it gives access to technologies to produce goods that are sold at lower prices.

Source: Punto Medio

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