Next round of NAFTA renegotiations on hold

OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – It looks like the next round of NAFTA renegotiations are on hold, as high-level ministerial meetings get underway today in Washington.

It all comes as the US pushes Canada and Mexico for a quick agreement in principle, ahead of the Mexican and US mid-term elections.

The next round of negotiations were expected early this month in Washington. But a source close to the talks says nothing has been officially confirmed yet because a lot will depend on these new meetings.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland will have a working dinner with her American and Mexican counterparts later today before holding a main meeting tomorrow, which will be closed to the media.

On CPAC, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sounded optimistic, following a business speech in Quebec. “We’re in a moment where we’re moving forward in a significant way. Hopefully, there will be some good news coming. But we know [with these negotiations], there’s good moments and there are slower moments.”

“Right now, we’re having a very productive moment of engaging with the United States and with Mexico and I’m very pleased with the work that the minister is doing in Washington,” he added.

The Trump administration has been pushing for an agreement in principle in time for the Summit of the Americas, which begins late next week. Experts say any such handshake deal would just be symbolic, since there is still a lot of work to be done.

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