US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan underscored the importance of concluding a new NAFTA trade deal in talks on Sunday with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers meeting in Buenos Aires. Sullivan and Videgaray discussed “continued cooperation on managing a shared border and the importance of working together to disrupt transnational criminal organizations,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement. “The Deputy also emphasized the importance of concluding a NAFTA deal,” said Nauert. Canada, the United States and Mexico are renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Talks to reach a deal on reworking the 24-year-old accord have intensified in recent weeks, pressed by US congressional deadlines and a common will to reach an agreement before Mexico’s July 1 presidential election. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that President Donald Trump is focused on getting a good NAFTA deal, whether it is passed by the current or future US Congress. He said Trump is not focused on specific deadlines. Published in Daily Times, May 22nd 2018.