As reported by Reuters, US officials are complaining that Canada is refusing to make necessary concessions in order to achieve a trilateral pact that will update and replace NAFTA.
Key highlights
The US administration has recently turned up the heat on Canada, trying to push for a concluded deal by this Sunday or else Canada risks being left out of a revised NAFTA agreement.
Canada has largely brushed off the attempted gambit, saying they have no interest in focusing on timelines.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has noted that there remains “some distance” between the US and Canada, specifically on how to settle trade disputes in the future, and about US access to the Canadian dairy market. Canada’s dairy market has remained largely closed to the US ever since American dairy farmers were caught excessively dumping products inside of Canada’s markets several decades ago.
Freeland’s spokesman, Adam Austen, said Canada would only sign a good deal. “Our focus is the substance, not timelines. We will continue to negotiate with a view to getting a deal that is in Canada’s national interest,” he said. – Reuters
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