Nafta Car Changes Welcomed by Canada as Talks With U.S. Resume

(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s foreign minister expressed support for changes to Nafta’s rules for car content as talks resumed between the U.S. and its northern neighbor to update the trade accordd. 
“Rules of origin in cars is an incredibly complicated issue, but we had reached a high-level agreement with the U.S. in the spring, and we are encouraged by the progress they made with Mexico this summer,” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters Wednesday on her way into meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. “Mexico has made some significant concessions which would be really good for Canadian workers,” she told reporters outside the USTR offices in Washington.


Talks to update the North American Free Trade Agreement resumed Wednesday in Washington with a focus on dairy as the U.S. pressures Canada to strike a deal by Friday, a U.S. official familiar with the negotiations said. The Trump administration plans to inform Congress by the end of the week that President Donald Trump intends to sign a trade deal with Mexico in 90 days to replace Nafta, and it’s urging Canada to join it. This week’s Nafta showdown has Canada under the gun to either strike a deal both can live with, cave to Trump’s pressure tactics or dig in and see what the U.S. will do.