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Local Support In U.S. Part Of NAFTA Strategy For Mexico

Ford Motor Co. seal
Ford Motor Co.
Automotive manufacturing has dramatically increased in the U.S., Mexico and Canada since the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect in 2004.

Mexican trade negotiators are hopeful local American leaders will help persuade them to convince the U.S. administration to not scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico’s chief negotiator said.

Mexican negotiators are hoping the White House will listen to the chorus of American businesses, think tanks and governors who are calling on the administration to keep the agreement. The Trump administration has repeatedly warned that if it doesn’t get what it wants from NAFTA, it will back out of the agreement.

“At the end of the day, it's a combination of having the U.S. private sector, U.S. civil society and, of course, U.S. Congress voice their opinions on the benefits of NAFTA,” said Ken Smith Ramos, Mexico’s chief technical negotiator, in an interview.

U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce have been vocal about their support for NAFTA. An analysis from the non-partisan Woodrow Wilson Center says 90,000 jobs in Arizona directly depend on trade with Mexico.

Jorge Valencia was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2016 to 2019.