Manufacturers of automobiles and auto parts from Canada, the United States and Mexico on Monday asked their respective governments to head back to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiating table as soon as possible.
The businessmen, who belong to various associations, believe there is an opportunity for negotiators from the three countries to show a renewed commitment between now and Dec. 1 when Mexico's new president is sworn in.
"We have a huge opportunity to update this agreement and it is in the best interest of the three countries to focus on the establishment of a new NAFTA that would allow the North American automobile industry to maintain its global competitiveness," according to details in a document released in Mexico by the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA).
In Mexico, AMIA represents the subsidiaries of Ford and General Motors from the United States; Japanese subsidiaries Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota; German subsidiaries Audi and Volkswagen; South Korean subsidiary Kia and the Italian-U.S. subsidiary Fiat Chrysler.
In addition to AMIA, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, American Automotive Policy Council, Association of Global Automakers and the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association of the United States added their names to the petition.
Associations from Canada lending their support included the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, Global Automakers of Canada and the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association.
Mexico's National Autoparts Industry also joined the call to action.
The negotiating teams had hoped to reach an "agreement in principle" by the beginning of May, but negotiations became mired due to the disagreement between Mexico and Canada over the demands made by the United States over changes to the agreement.
