U.S. to Push for Free-Trade Agreement With Mexico

The Bush Administration, moving to cement closer ties with Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, announced Wednesday that it will formally ask Congress for permission to negotiate a wide-ranging and controversial free-trade accord with Mexico.

In another signal of Mexico’s closer economic ties with the United States, Mexican officials said they would boost oil production by 100,000 barrels a day even though the country’s petroleum industry is already near its practical pumping limits.

“It would be possible with some effort to increase supply for a couple of months, not more than a couple of months,” said Mexican Foreign Minister Fernando Solana.

In June, President Bush and Salinas endorsed the goal of reaching a free-trade agreement despite misgivings among important political groups in both countries. Such an agreement is a high priority for Salinas, who has taken dramatic steps to open Mexico’s economy to trade and investment.

U.S. Trade Representative Carla Anderson Hills said she first had doubts about the chances of completing a free-trade accord with Mexico in face of opposition from some U.S. labor and business groups that fear a loss of jobs in low-wage, labor-intensive industries.

However, she said she is now convinced that it is possible to start negotiations in June, with the goal of completing an agreement by the end of 1992.