ASSESSMENTS

NAFTA's Members Head Back to the Table

Oct 10, 2017 | 09:00 GMT

The flags of Canada, Mexico and the United States hang outside the negotiating room during the third round of talks in September to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement will reach their apex during the fourth round, set to kick off Oct. 11. But they will hit plenty of bumps along the way.

(LARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Over the next few rounds of negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada, Mexico and the United States will present more drafts of proposals to revise the deal than they have during previous discussions.
  • The United States will propose the most contentious reforms, such as measures to increase the amount of U.S.-produced content in products imported from Mexico and Canada under NAFTA.
  • The negotiations are unlikely to break down, despite the controversial issues the next round of talks will cover, though they probably will take awhile to reach their conclusion.  

Canada, Mexico and the United States are drawing their battle lines for the fourth round of negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement. And the differences in their priorities for the talks, scheduled for Washington during Oct. 11-15, are becoming even clearer. The negotiations will reach their apex in the fourth round, but they will hit plenty of bumps along the way. As the signatory countries address the most difficult items on their agendas, they will run up against one another's imperatives, making compromise all the more challenging....

Subscribe to view this article

Subscribe Now

Subscribe

Already have an account?