US President Donald Trump has officially notified Congress that his administration intends to keep the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a trilateral agreement
US President Donald Trump has officially notified Congress that his administration intends to keep the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a trilateral agreement. The formal notification sets in motion Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) timelines that require submission of final NAFTA text to Congress within 30 days and executive signature of the agreement within 90 days. It states that the Trump administration intends to enter into the agreement by the end of November.
'Pursuant to [TPA,] I hereby notify the House of Representatives and the Senate that I intend to enter into a trade agreement with Mexico - and with Canada if it is willing, in a timely manner, to meet the high standards for free, fair, and reciprocal trade contained therein,' the notice says, according to American Shipper.
The notification follows a furious few days of talks between US and Canadian officials that failed to meet a White House-imposed deadline of Friday.
Senior Canada and US negotiators plan to resume talks next week in hopes of settling outstanding disputes over Canada's protected dairy market and other sensitive issues, reports Associated Press.
'The talks were constructive, and we made progress,' said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the conclusion of the Friday's negotiations in Washington.
Missing the Friday deadline, in itself, does not imperil a renegotiated Nafta. But the longer the discord remains, the greater the risk that a trilateral accord will be pushed out much further into the future, or that Trump's bid to overhaul Nafta - one of his top priorities - will fall short.
