MEXICO CITY, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The United States’ top diplomat arrives in Mexico on Thursday with debate raging over the government’s efforts to win favor with Washington and save the NAFTA trade pact from collapse, sparking concerns it is ceding sovereignty to its northern neighbor. Mexico has been at pains to prove itself a good ally to the United States on combating drug trafficking and immigration, in hopes this would help efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, a lynchpin for its export-led economy, in as favorable terms as possible. “The question is, what else is (Foreign Minister Luis) Videgaray giving to Trump and his collaborators in exchange for preserving NAFTA?” Salvador Garcia Soto asked in his El Universal newspaper column, decrying Videgaray’s “opaque” maneuvering. The North American Free Trade Agreement is an important accord for the region — but it's also due for an update, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday during a speech at the University of Texas at Austin. Although Tillerson has not been a prominent player in the NAFTA discussions, the future of the treaty is certain to loom over his visit, especially at a trilateral meeting with Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday. “I think in many ways the relationship today is more fluid, it’s closer than it was with previous administrations, which might be surprising to some people but that’s a fact of life,” said Mexico’s top diplomat. “We realize that we could achieve much more by being constructive and by approaching the relationship looking for common ground ... with very active cooperation.”

Quizzed by ruling party lawmakers on Tuesday, Videgaray denied the air marshals were part of any NAFTA quid pro quo, but said the government was studying the plan. CLOSER TIES

Tillerson’s Mexico City visit is the first leg in a week-long Latin America trip in which he hopes to keep up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over his restrictions on domestic political opposition. Tillerson is due to meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, and Videgaray for a second time, on Friday, and they are certain to discuss Central American migration and drug trafficking, two areas in which Mexico has sought to work more closely with the United States since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. “But that doesn’t guarantee you anything, because this guy (Trump) is very unpredictable.” (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Diane Craft)
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives in Mexico to meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto and Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray.