Canadian, Mexican Ambassadors Leery of US Consideration of Five-Year NAFTA Sunset Clause
Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton and Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Geronimo Gutierrez on Sept. 14 expressed skepticism over U.S. consideration of applying a five-year sunset clause to free trade agreements, including NAFTA, with both saying it would…
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create business uncertainty. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Sept. 14 said he and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are currently advocating for the Trump administration to initiate such a policy (see 1709140042). For “a trade agreement like [NAFTA], one of the reasons you do this is to create an environment within which business can make investments,” MacNaughton said during a conference hosted by Politico. “And many of those investments, people look to twenty years, twenty-five years for a payback.” MacNaughton and Gutierrez said they would both be willing to discuss the policy with the U.S. in more detail during NAFTA negotiations. “Certainty is the key word here,” Gutierrez said. MacNaughton also predicted that U.S. businesses would push back against the idea. Commerce didn’t comment.