MEXICO CITY, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from Mexico, Canada and the United States met on Friday to begin the second round of negotiations to revise the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The closed-door meeting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel of Mexico City was expected to tackle such issues as rules of origin, the opening up of markets, environment, e-commerce, transparency and corruption, among others, according to sources close to the talks.
Salvador Behar Lavalle, Mexico's deputy chief negotiator, told reporters he couldn't say how long the negotiations would last.
Sources told Xinhua that parallel to the closed-door gathering, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo will be meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland to issue a joint statement.
Mexico has a lot riding on the talks and leaders of its different business and productive sectors are serving as advisers to the government negotiating team.
"The private sector is united and organized, which allows us to discuss any topic with the negotiating team efficiently and allows Mexico to react as a country firmly and swiftly," said Juan Pablo Castanon, president of the Business Coordinating Council.
The negotiations are expected to run till at least the end of this year, though there are always possibilities the United States may withdraw from the talks if it feels it is not getting what it wants.
U.S. President Donald Trump insisted the agreement be renegotiated, claiming it unfairly benefited Mexico at the expense of U.S. industries and jobs.
