Mexico Expects US to Lift Steel Tariffs Before New Trade Deal Signed - Reports

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - Mexico expects that the United States would lift the steel and aluminum tariffs that it had introduced on Mexico before a new trade agreement between the countries is signed, Mexican Ambassador to the United States Geronimo Gutierrez said on Tuesday.

"It’s the expectation that by the time of the signing [of a new trade agreement] either a solution or a very clear track that gives enough certainty that a solution is coming," Gutierrez said, as quoted by the US newspaper McClatchyDC.

In late September, the United States, Mexico and Canada agreed on a new trade deal called US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, set to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has been in place since 1994. Since his election in 2016, US President Donald Trump has been calling on the signatories to renegotiate NAFTA for a more advantageous agreement.

In late March, Washington imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports. In respect to the European Union, Mexico and Canada, this decision was put into effect on June 1

After the agreement was reached, the leaders of the three countries were given 60 days to sign it. After the deal is signed, it will need to receive approval from the countries' legislative bodies.

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