NAFTA 2.0 agreement appears to be in reach

Washington : A deal on an overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement appears to be within reach, as Canada and the United States opened their third day of negotiations yesterday aimed at getting the pact done by the end of the week. Trade officials worked late into the night on details, and Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland went into another face-to-face meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer as the sides seek to bridge their differences. Despite US President Donald Trump’s threats to leave Canada on the sidelines after announcing a breakthrough with Mexico on Monday, Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed optimism a deal was close. 

The White House plans to notify Congress on Friday of its intention to enter into a new free trade agreement, to provide the required 90 days’ notice that would allow NAFTA 2.0 to be signed by December 1, when Mexico will install a new president. But that will mean compromises on both sides on issues that have created friction between the neighboring countries, notably Canada’s dairy trade rules and mechanisms to settle disputes and intellectual property protections, as the leaders each try to claim victory.

“I think they’re going really well,” Trump said of the Canada talks, saying they were “probably on track” to meet the Friday deadline. “I think Canada very much wants to make the deal,” he said, while again raising the possibility of doing a separate, bilateral deal with Mexico. The crucial phase of talks began Tuesday, and Trudeau expressed optimism the countries could reach agreement by the end of the week. “There is a possibility of getting to a good deal for Canada by Friday,” Trudeau said. But “no NAFTA deal is better than a bad NAFTA deal.” Mexico paved the way by agreeing to a NAFTA 2.0 with the United States on Monday. Freeland told reporters that she and Lighthizer were reviewing “a number of different issues” with their teams.