No deal yet in US, Canada NAFTA talks
Published:Saturday | September 1, 2018 | 9:12 AM
Talks between the United States (US) and Canada about amending the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have ended for the week without an agreement.
The White House had faced a Friday deadline to provide Congress with the necessary 90-day notice that it intended to enter into a new trade agreement with Canada and still have the new NAFTA deal signed by December 1.
US officials say the negotiations will continue next week in an effort to reach an agreement.
In the interim, US authorities say they plan to move forward with a deal with Mexico on terms that were reached earlier in the week.
It is not clear what this decision means for the trilateral agreement, which governs more than US$1 trillion in trade.
The US wants Canada to open up access to American dairy products, extend patent protections for medicines and agree to eliminate international panels to resolve most disputes between investors and governments.
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland revealed yesterday that the two countries are making progress and that an agreement is "within reach".
"With goodwill and flexibility on all sides we can get there," she said.
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