Canada

Republican senators on Tuesday were divided over their support for a North American trade deal that did not include Canada after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the two sides were “running out of time” to reach a deal.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday said the U.S. and Canada must “come to grips” with a number of contentious issues -- such as dairy and Chapter 19 -- as the deadline for the U.S. to finalize a deal with Mexico approaches.

“I worry that politics in Canada is trumping common sense because there’s a very good deal that was designed by Mexico and the U.S. to appeal to Canada. And they’re not signing up.”

Tom Donohue, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, told reporters on Wednesday that a trade deal with Mexico alone -- leaving Canada out -- should not be considered a deal at all.

“Mexico negotiated in good faith and in a timely manner, and if Canada does not cooperate in the negotiations, Congress will have no choice but to consider options about how best to move forward.”

“There are some conversations it’s better to have face-to-face and I think it’s absolutely the right thing for us to meet this week.”

The session had been set for Friday -- weather permitting.

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.