Canada

The debate over Canadian dairy market access in the NAFTA negotiations is the “issue that’s probably the most difficult that I’ve ever seen,” the chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Wednesday during a broad defense of the Trump administration’s trade policies.

The Canadian foreign minister said NAFTA talks had “absolutely not” hit a stalemate.

“We'll see if we can get them into the deal we already have with Mexico.... We've all been dealing in good faith.”

Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee say U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s Aug. 31 notification to Congress of a new deal with Mexico goes against the spirit of the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority law – and they have “several questions” they need answered.

“As the U.S. aluminum industry is in a deficit market, limiting access to aluminum suppliers in the NAFTA region will be a barrier to continued U.S. growth and investment.”

“I want to see this run its course before making a judgment on that.”

“A NAFTA with tariffs on steel and aluminum substantially contradicts the main purpose of an FTA.”

The U.S. and Mexico have not yet finalized the government procurement market access provisions in their bilateral trade deal announced last week because Mexico is conditioning concessions on Canada’s approval, industry sources said.

Canada will not sign a NAFTA deal that does not include a Chapter 19-like dispute settlement mechanism or cultural exemptions, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.