Canada and the United States Compete at Midnight Deadline to Amend NAFTA

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian and US negotiators were eager to negotiate an agreement to reorganize NAFTA, but the Canadian dairy market and US tariffs were still unresolved, a spokesman said. Canadian leader and other sources.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has said that Canada must sign the North American Free Trade Agreement text updated before Monday, otherwise it risks being excluded from the pact. Washington has already concluded a bilateral agreement with Mexico, third member of NAFTA.

"A lot of progress has been made, but we are not there yet … we still have some difficult problems to solve, so we are doing our best," said Canada's Ambassador to Washington, David MacNaughton, to the press in front of the building in Ottawa, where are Canadian representatives. collected.

"I'm cautiously optimistic, but we'll see," he added.

Officials are constantly talking over the phone. An Ottawa source familiar with the discussions said the two sides were very close, while another said, "We are close, but not yet."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined his bargaining team on Sunday night, a possible sign of a move, but he did not speak to reporters when he entered the party. Ottawa building.

The office of the US Trade Representative informed industry stakeholders this weekend that Washington was on track to reach an agreement with Ottawa by the end of Sunday, said the people had been informed about it.

Trump blames NAFTA for the loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector in the United States and wishes major changes in the pact, which generates an annual turnover of 1, $ 2 trillion. Markets fear that its disappearance will cause major economic disruption.

One of the Canadian sources said that Ottawa would not take anything for granted until Trump signed an agreement.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and White House advisor Jared Kushner briefed Trump throughout the talks on Sunday, an American source said.

Under any agreement, Canada should offer increased access to its highly protected dairy market, as it has done in separate pacts with the European Union and the Pacific countries.

The influential lobby Dairy Farmers of Canada – which strongly opposes this idea – said in a statement that he insisted that "any final agreement under the NAFTA should have no other negative impact on the dairy sector ".

The American business community is opposed to the transformation of NAFTA into a bilateral agreement, as the economies of the three countries have been closely linked since the entry into force of the original pact in 1994.

The officials have exceeded several deadlines since the start of negotiations in August 2017, and a third Canadian source said that if both parties were close enough at midnight, negotiations could continue until Monday.

TARIFF NUMBER

Canada and the United States are also seeking a compromise on the issue of US tariffs.

Trump has already imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, citing national security, and threatens similar punitive measures against motor vehicle exports. Trudeau said it made no sense to sign a new North American Free Trade Agreement just to face new tariffs, and demand safeguards.

An informed source of the talks said the negotiators sought to emulate the provisions of the Mexico-US bilateral convention. deal with NAFTA.

The two countries signed an annex letter authorizing the US authorities to apply tariffs on annual imports of Mexican cars and SUVs of more than 2.4 million vehicles, a figure well above last year's total. The Mexican government said the letter provided insurance that allowed the auto industry to grow.

A fourth Canadian source directly aware of the negotiations said that any suggestion by Ottawa to accept a ceiling or quota on car exports would be inaccurate.