Mexico wants steel dispute ended before new NAFTA signed: minister

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico wants to end to a tariff dispute over steel and aluminum with the United States prior to signing off on a reworked trade agreement with its northern neighbor, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Thursday.

“Now, what are we going to do here? A deal before we get to signing, to clearly get rid of all these ... tariff-related aggressions,” Guajardo said on Mexican television after referring to the steel and aluminum dispute.

Mexico and the United States last week said they had reached a deal after more than a year’s negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Canada, the other NAFTA signatory, is still locked in discussions with Washington to see if it can join the accord.

Mexico and Canada launched a series of tit-for-tat measures against the United States when the Trump administration at the end of May decided to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from a range of countries, including its NAFTA partners.

Mexico aims to sign off its trade deal with Washington by the end of November, and hopes Canada will remain part of it.