Mexico confident of Nafta deal by year end

Mexico City : The Mexican government is confident that a new North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) with Canada and the US will take place by December.

The government of President Enrique Pena Nieto is hoping to sign an updated version of the 1994 trade accord before his six-year term ends on November 30, Xinhua news agency quoted presidential spokesman Eduardo Sanchez as saying on Sunday.

"We're working on it. Hopefully this government will get to sign it," Sanchez said on the sidelines of Mexico's Independence Day parade.

On August 27, Mexico and the US reached an agreement in principle on a revamped deal, but to preserve the three-way agreement, those changes also require Canada's approval.

After US President Donald Trump took office, he insisted the deal be renegotiated to secure more favourable terms for American industry and workers, saying his administration could pursue bilateral agreements with its two regional trade partners if a trilateral deal is not successful.

Sanchez denied rumours that Pena Nieto and Trump were to meet over the agreement next week in New York during the annual UN General Assembly sessions.

Pena Nieto's successor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who takes office on December 1, has said he is in favour of Nafta and his advisers have been taking part in the negotiations.