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WASHINGTON – The United States and Canada resumed Wednesday negotiations to preserve the North American Free Trade Agreement, but leaders of both countries continued to insist that they not concede their key priorities.
On Saturday, President Trump reiterated his threat to pull Canada out of a revised Nafta and move with Mexico just, saying it was not necessary to keep a trilateral agreement alive.
"There is no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA agreement," Trump said in a tweet on Saturday. "If we do not make a fair deal with the United States after decades of abuse, Canada will be eliminated."
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also insisted this week that he did not want to give in to some disagreements between the two countries.
Discussions between Canada and the United States ended last week without an agreement, which led Mr. Trump to inform Congress that he would enter into a trade deal with Mexico and give Canada the chance to stay in a revised NAFTA "if it chooses". September to reach an agreement with the United States, allowing the pact of the three countries to remain intact.
There are still a number of significant barriers, including an independent dispute resolution system that Canada wants to keep and that the United States wants to eliminate. The system allows Canada to appeal rights that the United States imposes on Canadian products, such as lumber, as a penalty for providing subsidies and depositing products in the US market . The provision was removed in the US-Mexico agreement, but Canadians emphasized the need to protect industries from biased decisions in the United States.
Last week, the US International Trade Commission overturned the Trump administration's decision to impose tariffs on Canadian newsprint. The Department of Commerce imposed royalties on Canadian newsprint after it determined that the government was unfairly subsidizing its manufacturers and harming US companies.
Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada "will maintain" the dispute settlement mechanism in the agreement.
Agriculture also continues to be a barrier as the Canadian dairy industry is highly protected and Trump has made US export openness a top priority. Canadians have also insisted on maintaining exceptions that would limit foreign ownership of cultural industries.
Trudeau said Tuesday that the cultural exemption, which prevents American media companies from acquiring Canadian television networks, is essential to protect his country's sovereignty.
Canada's foreign affairs minister, Chrystia Freeland, said Wednesday that her team of trade negotiators worked throughout the weekend in hopes of finding common ground on outstanding issues.
"We look forward to holding constructive conversations today," said Ms. Freeland before a meeting with Robert E. Lighthizer, Trump 's chief commercial negotiator.
Despite the stumbling blocks, it is unclear whether the United States could go ahead without Canada or withdraw completely from Nafta.
"It's very difficult to see how it would work without Canada intervening," said Trumka.
Republicans and congressional Democrats have also widely agreed that Canada must be included in a final Nafta. Given that it is unlikely that Congress will vote on such an agreement before next year and that Democrats can gain control of the House or, less likely, the Senate, Mr. Trump may have to to take into account the concerns of legislators.
"Trump relies on brutality and intimidation in a desperate bid for Congress to engulf his half-finished deal," said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the Democratic's highest-level finance committee. . "You can not fix Nafta without fixing the problems with Canada."
