NAFTA talks will continue this week but only in informal way. Both Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will be in United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday and Tuesday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “certainly the fact that many of our negotiators, many of our teams, will be in New York at the same time (means) it’s very likely that conversations continue in a constructive but less formal way.” There is no other formal arrangement known at this time.
At the same time, Trudeau didn’t sound he would be obliged to the US-imposed deadline of October 1. He reiterated that he would not sign a bad NAFTA deal. And Canadian negotiation team won’t be rushed. On the other hand, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday that the US is getting “very, very close” to move forward on a trade deal with Mexico without Canada. Mexican president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that “in the event that the governments of the United States and Canada do not come to an agreement … we would have to maintain the bilateral deal with the United States and seek a similar deal with Canada.”
