- Title: Mexican and US business leaders meet to build case for free trade
- Date: 8th December 2016
- Summary: CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO (FILE) (REUTERS) TRUCK NEAR BORDER AREA MEXICAN COAT OF ARMS VARIOUS OF TRUCK APPROACHING BORDER CROSSING SIGN FOR TRUCK REVISION AREA AT BORDER CROSSING TRUCK ENTERING CROSSING AREA
- Embargoed: 23rd December 2016 03:28
- Keywords: Mexico United States U.S. Donald Trump business commerce Juan Pablo Castanon
- Location: MEXICO CITY AND CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO
- City: MEXICO CITY AND CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Reuters ID: LVA0035C0U3B7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Mexican and U.S. business groups met in Mexico City on Wednesday (December 07) to build their case for cross-border bilateral economic integration as they seek to convince the government of President-elect Donald Trump of its benefits.
The top level meeting between Mexican and U.S. business leaders, known as the CEO Dialogue, in Mexico City brought together leading thinkers and officials from both sides of the border with the idea to advance bilateral ties.
"We have a common front to seek out the benefits of strengthening bilateral relations. We have found areas of synergy to convince our respective governments, in particular the incoming government of the United States," said the president of Mexico's Business Coordination Council, Juan Pablo Castanon.
The election of Trump has thrown Mexico's business world into uncertainty, as the president-elect has attacked U.S. companies investing south of the border and threatened to renegotiate or scrap a major trade agreement with Mexico.
Trump has relentlessly attacked NAFTA and condemned the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a broader deal signed this year between 12 nations on the Pacific Rim that Mexico hoped it could use as a vehicle to update NAFTA and assuage U.S. critics.
The meeting in Mexico echoes efforts made by those backing NAFTA during the run-up to the signing of the trade accord in the 1990s when lobbyists attempted to explain the benefits of free trade to local politicians and lawmakers in the United States.
"We and they, with this council, is how we have developed dialogue for the arguments to keep up the incentives for investment in both countries and to maintain this integration. I don't think there is inquietude towards investment in Mexico from their (U.S.) side," added Castanon.
Mexico and the United States are major trading partners, having exchanged goods and services totalling over $500 billion in 2015. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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