The prospects of concluding a new NAFTA agreement before today’s “soft deadline” for passage into law under the U.S. Congress are low. Economy Minister Guajardo has indicated as much from Mexico’s perspective. Meanwhile prospects even for a so-called skinny NAFTA focusing on the automotive are low after “backsliding” according to Ambassador Lighthizer of the U.S. An autos-only deal could still be the best approach given the sector accounted for 73% of the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico in the 12 months to March 31. Rules-of-origin that encourage Mexican assemblers to source pa...