Senior Mexican official holds NAFTA talks in U.S.

Mexican deputy economic minister Juan Carlos Baker has been in Washington this week for talks with U.S. officials over the renegotiation of the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA), three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Baker has held talks to take stock of ongoing discussions on how to revise automotive sector rules, among other issues, said one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Baker traveled to hold meetings with U.S. trade officials to review the issues in the negotiation,” one of the sources said, noting that trade negotiators were continuing to hold remote discussions on a number of issues.

The Mexican official arrived in Washington on Tuesday and would return on Wednesday, another of the sources said.

A spokesman for the Mexican economy ministry said he could not confirm the reports of Baker’s meeting.

NAFTA talks have been stalled over a series of U.S. demands to rework the 24-year-old accord, in particular proposals to impose tougher regional content requirements on the auto industry in a bid to create more jobs in the United States.