MEXICO CITY, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican government on Monday began to consult with the country's agri-food sector in a bid to bolster its hand at the upcoming free trade talks with Canada and the United States.
Mexico, the United States and Canada are set to renegotiate the two-decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in August at the insistence of U.S. President Donald Trump, who believes the treaty's terms are disadvantageous to U.S. industry.
The Mexican ministry of agriculture said in a statement that it has organized a forum where officials, producers and business owners could exchange strategic ideas.
"We have to bring the best argument to the table," said Deputy Agriculture Minister Jorge Narvaez at the opening of the Strategic Forum on NAFTA's Agricultural Chapter.
The information gathered at the forum will then be presented to the country's economic ministry, which will be leading Mexico's delegation to the talks, tentatively expected to start on Aug. 16.
Participants will review all aspects of trade, including tariffs and subsidies as well as health, labor and environmental regulations, said the statement.
"The agri-food sector is a key part of the free-trade agreement (NAFTA), thus there is a need to form a team, unite efforts and generate institutional confidence and certainty," said Narvaez.
The outlook for North America's agricultural industries improved recently when the agriculture ministers from all three countries met in the U.S. state of Georgia on June 20 to express their support for NAFTA and free trade.
Mexico exported more than 80 percent of its agri-food to the United States, generating a record of 29 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2016, according to its agricultural ministry.
