Trump, Trudeau, and Peña Nieto Cannot Let NAFTA Fail
America urgently needs an immediate breakthrough in the negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) before elections in Mexico and the United States close the window for progress until next year. Letting this moment pass could seriously harm U.S. farmers, businesses and workers and add uncertainty to relations with America’s two largest export markets, Canada and Mexico.
Public criticism of Mexico over migrants could be very costly to our security and bilateral cooperation in this context. Mexico currently works more closely than ever before with the U.S., sharing information to identify and intercept potentially dangerours actors, including via biometrics that Mexico provides. Mexican authorities have apprehended over 500,000 Central Americans trying to head north in the last four years, greatly easing the burden at the U.S. southern border.
In 2017, Mexico and the U.S. forged a joint strategy for fighting drug trafficking. Mexico is cooperating to help alleviate the root causes driving migrants north from Central America: criminal violence and poverty.
About the Author
Earl Anthony Wayne
Former Career Ambassador to Afghanistan, Argentina, and Mexico; Distinguished Diplomat in Residence, School of International Service, American University
Mexico Institute
The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute. Read more
