translated from Spanish: It will be complicated for AMLO diversify foreign trade

city of Mexico.-the “agreement in principle” reached between the negotiating teams of Canada, United States and Mexico, limits the room for manoeuvre so that the next Government headed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) to diversify foreign trade. The draft of the trade deal, agreed between the three countries last week, is already in the Mexican Senate for discussion.
The “agreement in principle” achieved with the participation of Jesús Seade, appointed by Lopez Obrador to be part of the negotiating table, conditioned the signing of free trade agreements with other countries. It is not prohibited, but where one of the Member countries intend to establish a pact with some other country, it shall notify the other two members, and these last are reserved the right to stay or leave the trilateral trade agreement.
“That option has always existed in section 2205; for whatever reason a country may announce six months ahead of his departure from the FTA, but the absolute right and sovereign make a treaty with whom we want to remains”, current Secretary of economy of Mexico.
Thus, this rule be ratified by the congresses of the three countries will once again limit the possibilities of diversifying foreign trade of Mexico, who runs more than 80 percent of their exports to the United States. In an unprecedented scale, the entry into force of the Treaty of the North American free trade (NAFTA) in 1994 deepened the dependence of the Mexican economy to the United States.
Not only in commercial terms, but also in terms of investment it foreign direct. The accumulated amount of American investment in Mexico reached $ 28,382 million in 2015. According to the latest data published by the Office of the trade representative of the United States, at the end of 2015 the cumulative investment of United States in Mexico exceeded 92,000 million dollars.
In its project of nation 2018-2024, AMLO has the diversification of foreign trade as one of the objectives of his Government’s foreign policy. The document suggests that during recent years the foreign relations of Mexico have focused excessively on the neighbor to the North. Even though the relationship with Washington is very important, argues that a Government headed by the Tabasco politician would have seeks closer relations of Mexico with other regions of the world, including Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific and Europe , among others.
Even if it conditions the establishment of trade pacts with other countries, the “agreement in principle” of the trade agreement between Canada, United States and Mexico was well received by Lopez Obrador. “The three countries benefit: involves investment, economic and financial stability”, said AMLO through social networks.

Original source in Spanish