Mexico

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday that the U.S. and Canada were “not there yet” in talks on a retooled NAFTA, with the U.S. claiming Ottawa had yet to make any concessions on agriculture market access issues.

The U.S. and Mexico have agreed in principle to a slew of changes to NAFTA's textiles chapter, including potentially controversial moves like a reduction of tariff preference levels and the maintenance of a yarn-forward rule of origin, sources told Inside U.S. Trade.

The leaders of Canada’s largest private-sector union and a major auto group on Wednesday largely endorsed the preliminary NAFTA agreement reached this week by the U.S. and Mexico, though they said more details were needed as the U.S. and Canada burned the midnight oil in pursuit of a trilateral deal.

A source close to the talks says Canada and the U.S. are unlikely to resolve all of their issues by Friday, calling it an “uphill battle.”

“Our hope is that they would agree to the same provision [as Mexico],” Ross said.

“It’s important for them to get this deal, and it’s important for us. I think we’ll be successful, but if we don’t, we’ll move forward with Mexico and then we’ll reach a separate agreement with Canada.”

The bilateral agreement the U.S. and Mexico announced on Monday includes a provision ensuring 10 years of data protection for biologic drugs, along with other trade provisions that go further than what Canada has agreed to in previous trade agreements.

Cornyn: “This is a positive step, and now we need to ensure the final agreement brings Canada in to the fold and has bipartisan support.”

President Trump said on Monday that he would formally terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement because the United States has reached a deal with Mexico, though Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto insisted a new agreement ultimately must include Canada.