US President Trump’s effort to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and secure “a better deal for America” begins on August 16 with talks between Canada, Mexico and the United States. The opening round will be hosted in Washington on August 16-20. The second round will take place in Mexico City tentatively the second week in September, around September 10. Canada will host the third round at a date not yet announced but expected to be in early October.
This is considered the first phase. Depending on negotiation status on the various subjects, a second and third round is expected. The negotiators hope to complete the NAFTA talks by early next year in advance of Mexican elections.
Some highlights of the priorities of the US representatives are as follows:
1. Reducing the U.S. trade deficit within NAFTA, which could mean increasing US exports or reducing Canadian and Mexican imports.
2. Changing the NAFTA’s dispute-resolution panel format
3. Making it easier for US telecom companies and banks to operate in the other NAFTA countries.
4. Opening more Canadian or Mexican government contracts to U.S. companies.
5. Discussion of “Buy American” provisions to bar Canadian or Mexican firms from seeking US government contracts.
6. Altering Canadian and Mexican intellectual-property rules to be more similar to those found in US law