Nations wrap up first round of talks

WASHINGTON: The United States, Canadian and Mexican negotiators wrapped up the first round of talks on Sunday aimed at revamping the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), part of a US effort to cut its trade deficit.

The three Nafta countries are “committed to an accelerated and comprehensive negotiation process that will upgrade our agreement and establish 21st century standards to the benefit of our citizens”, according to a joint statement.

The talks opened Wednesday with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer insisting in blunt language that Nafta must undergo wholesale revision in order to fulfil President Donald Trump’s goal of reducing bilateral trade imbalances and protecting American jobs, especially in the auto sector.

Trump famously denounced Nafta as “the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere”, and threatened to pull out of the agreement he said had destroyed US jobs. But he eventually succumbed to pressure to renegotiate instead.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal made clear they viewed the free trade deal as a success and only wanted to see it modernised and improved.

Negotiations will move at a “rapid pace”, with the next round set for September 1-5 in Mexico, “moving to Canada next month and returning to the US in October, with additional rounds being planned for the remainder of the year”.

The timeline for the talks is accelerated given elections in Mexico in July next year, as well as the US legislative calendar, with seven to nine rounds expected to finish the revisions by the end of this year.

The first round of Nafta talks covered more than two dozen different negotiation topics “and agreed to provide additional text, comments or alternate proposals during the next two weeks”, following consultations with businesses and stakeholders in their home countries, according to the statement. AFP