UPDATE 1-Mexico, U.S. 'getting close' on finalizing USMCA - Mexican official

Mexico's deputy foreign minister for North America said on Saturday that negotiators were making progress on revisions to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal.

Mexico approved USMCA this year, but U.S. ratification has been held up by Democratic lawmakers, who have voiced concerns over the enforcement of labor and environmental provisions. "We're getting close, I'm confident," the minister, Jesus Seade, told reporters outside the U.S. Trade Representative's office in Washington. He said he would likely return on Monday to continue talks.

On Friday evening, Jesus had said that many issues still needed to be resolved. One point of contention is over steel after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer made a last-minute demand for a revised definition of what would constitute North American steel under automotive rules of origin.

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