Ross Confirms Sunset Provision Under Consideration, Mexico And Canada Reject It

The issue of a five-year sunset period for NAFTA as part of the 2.0 negotiations underway with Canada and Mexico continues with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirming at a Politico Pro Policy Summit that there is an active discussion on the matter."The five-year thing is a real thing," Ross said. The view of those favoring it is that it "would force a systematic re-examination" of NAFTA every five years. "Why that's important is the forecasts that have been made at the initiation of NAFTA and of other trade agreements mostly have been wildly optimistic as to the results," he said. However, Ross acknowledged it is not yet a "done deal" as far as a U.S. proposal.Canada and Mexico indicated they will not back the concept. Canada's Ambassador to the U.S., David MacNaughton, said that a five-year sunset raises Canadian concerns and should also raise concerns with U.S. businesses that have to made long-term investment decisions. Geronimo Gutierrez, Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., said that re-examination would introduce economic instability, which would harm industries across all three countries.