American trade officials are showing newfound interest in a Canadian proposal for revamping NAFTA's automotive provisions as the U.S. seeks to swiftly conclude renegotiations of the continental free trade pact. For the first time, Lighthizer made public his hope of completing a NAFTA deal — including the legally required six-month congressional consultation period and ratification vote — before a new Congress gets sworn in next January. It gave me hope," he said, noting that U.S. trade officials had not accepted an invitation to meet with him during the first six months of the negotiations. And that, he predicted, is "not going to happen," particularly not with Mexico embarking on its presidential campaign in two weeks. Some trade experts suspect the Trudeau government may be willing to accept a small increase in U.S. dairy imports, similar to what was agreed to in the original Trans-Pacific Partnership, before Trump withdrew the U.S. from that trade deal.

Source: CBC News March 19, 2018 14:48 UTC