Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is signaling that a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is close to being completed as Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister huddles with her American and Mexican counterparts in Washington, D.C.
On Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Trudeau expressed optimism at progress in the NAFTA negotiations, saying the talks are “moving forward in a significant way.”
“Hopefully, there will be some good news coming,” the Prime Minister said during a visit to Quebec City. “We know in these negotiations there’s good moments and there’s slower moments. But right now, we’re having a very productive moment of engaging with the United States and with Mexico.”
Asked about the possibility of a deal being reached ahead of an international summit in Peru next week, which U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing for, Prime Minister Trudeau said, “We are still working to see if it would be possible.”
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland, arrived Thursday in Washington, D.C., where she was scheduled to meet her two counterparts — U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexican Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo — over dinner. They were scheduled to meet again Friday to discuss progress on the NAFTA talks.
The next round of formal NAFTA negotiations is expected to begin in Washington, D.C. next week. But that round of talks is temporarily on hold pending the outcome of Friday’s meeting.
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