Mexico presses Trump to uphold NAFTA for good of both nations

Trucks wait in a long queue for border customs control to cross into the U.S. at the Otay border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico made a pitch to U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday to uphold the NAFTA trade deal, arguing that unwinding economic integration would hurt both nations, damaging U.S. exports, risking American jobs and hitting consumers north of the border.

Responding to a March 31 executive order by Trump for a review of the U.S. trade deficit, Mexico said its trade surplus with the United States was misunderstood and that the real hit to U.S. manufacturing jobs came with China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.