NAFTA negotiatiors made some progress on less controversial issues this week but left untouched the thorniest subjects of autos, dispute settlement and an expiry clause to be tackled at pivotal talks in January in Montreal, Reuters reports.
Some participants said on Friday the Washington “intersessional” round of negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade agreement focused on technical issues and areas like environmental standards, digital trade, energy, telecommunications and regulatory practices.
Canada and Mexico have not yet offered counterproposals to the Trump administration’s automotive demands that half the content for North American-made vehicles come from the United States along with sharply higher regional content, a proposal that would dramatically reshape the industry.
Canada and Mexico rejected the U.S. proposal as unworkable last month in Mexico City, but some officials said they expected alternatives to emerge in Montreal.
“There wasn’t much of a discussion on autos” at the Washington talks this week, Mexican chief negotiator Ken Smith told reporters.
“So we’ll take that conversation up again in Montreal, and hopefully, what I told my U.S. counterparts, is that we should start a dialogue that takes into consideration the position of the industries of the three countries because we cannot operate in a vacuum.”
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has repeatedly expressed frustration that Canada and Mexico have not accepted his demands in autos and other areas to “rebalance” the trade agreement to shrink U.S. trade deficits.
“The United States continues to look for serious engagement and meaningful progress in these talks for a modernized and rebalanced NAFTA,” USTR spokeswoman Amelia Breinig said in a statement on Friday as the talks wound down.
But she said the three countries did manage to substantively complete a sectoral annex on energy efficiency standards, marking the first time a NAFTA negotiating area or so-called chapter had closed since September.