From The Desk of Marco Lopez In The Shadow of U.S. Secretary of Commerce

That's Wilbur Ross in the image to the left, the Secretary of Commerce, who outlined 28 NAFTA talking-points that need to get agreed on before the end of the year with the admonition that in-country elections for next year in Mexico and the United States would interfere with making any progress in the renegotiations of trade between the two.
Round 6 in the trans-national trade agreements is scheduled to start next week on 11 December in Washington DC.
So far it may be getting too late for another go-round.

Through Intermestic Partners, Marco Lopez represents numerous Fortune 100 companies doing business between the United States and Latin America.
Aside from advising top businesses and executives, he has worked with numerous political leaders in the United States and Latin America.

Image to the right from Twitter two days ago >



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Marco Lopez Talks Border Security & Immigration with MSNBC's Andrea… June 8, 2017.

Given his expertise in U.S.-Mexico political and economic relations, Marco López, Founder and President of Intermestic Partners

and former Chief o. Read more ...

Marco A. López Jr.: Executive Profile & Biography -

Bloomberghttps://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?person

Mr. Marco A. López, Jr. serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Intermestic Partners. Mr. López guides U.S. outreach efforts for Latin America's most important philanthropic organization,

The Carlos Slim Foundation, and that of its affiliate member corporate companies.

Additionally, he se. . .

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WEEKLY RECAP
Source > https://us15.campaign-archive.com
News on the state of U.S.-Mexico relations, bilateral trade, NAFTA and more from November 27-December 4, 2017
Another round of NAFTA talks is just around the corner – on December 11 the United States, Mexico, and Canada will reconvene in Washington to continue renegotiating the cross-border trade deal. 
Each country's head trade official, who were absent from the last round of talks, will be absent yet again in next week’s talks. I believe this is a major step forward – not only will it reduce the anxiety and tension present at all the previous rounds of talks, it may actually allow important structural points to be finalized.
Though many see the trade ministers being absent as a warning sign – allowing the process to be more gradual and calculated means a more confident market in the present and likely a more successful result in the end.
After NAFTA round four, the deal was on the brink of collapse and thousands of companies and individuals feared for their futures. As I’ve advocated for in the past, new tactics that aim for increased productivity are a good thing.
From my conversations with Mexican trade officials after NAFTA round five, Mexico is feeling more confident and hopeful that milestones will be reached in round six – even though they had hoped for deals on telecoms and e-commerce in November.
One key development to watch: if and how autos are brought up in these next rounds of talks. Mexico and Canada are still against the US’s auto proposals and have criticized them for not being viable – a position American auto-workers largely agree with.
Lighthizer has yet to prove he is willing to be an advocate for an industry that employs millions of Americans.
Another critical area both substantively and politically: environmental standards. Improving both labor and environmental standards is a political priority for the Canadian negotiating team. Some have suggested, and I concur, that the US might be willing to acquiesce to some of Canada's demands to achieve concessions that strike at the heart of their "America first" agenda --- at least optically. Particularly because many US businesses are already making green efficient standards a voluntary priority within their own organizations. 
There’s so much to stay tuned for – and I look forward to filling you in on more again very soon.
As always, feel free to reach out to me individually with thoughts or questions.
Let’s keep at it, Until next time,

Marco A. LópezIntermestic Partnersmarco@intermestic.com

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Mexico Team Says Deals On Some Chapters May Be Reached In NAFTA Round Six The next trade meeting of “U.S., Mexican and Canadian officials to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will begin on Dec. 11 in Washington, and they could reach agreement on some major chapters of the deal, Mexico’s economy minister said on Monday.” Mexican Economy “Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said that the Washington round, at which ministers will not participate, should register more advances in topics such as telecoms, e-commerce, technical barriers to trade and regulatory practices.” He told Reuters: “‘There are things we can make progress on.’” Minister “Guajardo said the talks would extend through the week from Dec. 11.
Two other NAFTA sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the talks were scheduled from Dec. 11-15. One said they could involve meetings before and after those dates.” The United States President “Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of NAFTA unless he can rework it in favor of the United States, spooking investors and putting pressure on the Mexican peso.” Mexican trade officials “had hoped to close chapters on telecoms and e-commerce in the November round…Guajardo said he was confident that agreement could be reached in wording the telecoms chapter in a way that applied the rules for all three nations, not singling out Mexico.” Mexico still has “major reservations about a number of U.S. proposals, none more so than a plan to raise the required North American content in autos to 85 percent from 62.5 percent, as well as ensure half the total content is from the United States.”