Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. said Monday he believes NAFTA negotiators can reach an agreement in principle by the end of March.
This story by the Canadian Press appeared in Automotive News Canada.
The upbeat assessment from envoy David MacNaughton comes in the face of the continuing threat from U.S. President Donald Trump to blow up the deal, which hangs over the final eight weeks in the current negotiating schedule.
MacNaughton refused to speculate on whether Trump is likely to pull out of NAFTA, but he said enough progress has been made on the “wiring and plumbing” of the agreement that all three countries can iron out their differences on the more substantial issues in the next two months.
MacNaughton said the time has come to leave political rhetoric behind and find a workable agreement in principle that officials can hammer out later.
Two more rounds of negotiations are set to take place before presidential elections in Mexico and the U.S. congressional midterms, which observers fear could prove disruptive.
The lingering doubt is bad for the U.S. economy and business in general, MacNaughton said.
Substantial differences remain on autos, a sunset clause and an investor-dispute resolution mechanism, while U.S. demands for greater market access to Canada’s protected dairy industry also loom large.
The NAFTA renegotiation survived its sixth round of talks in Montreal, with the U.S. dialing down some of its negative rhetoric, including its imminent threats of withdrawal.
