NAFTA, Round 1: U.S. opens talks by insisting on major changes to pact
Posted Aug 16, 2017 04:58:41 AM.
Last Updated Aug 16, 2017 10:20:37 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NAFTA negotiations are underway — and the United States says it wants major changes to the agreement, not mere tweaks.
U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer welcomed his Canadian and Mexican counterparts to Washington, D.C., for what he called a historic day.
Lighthizer says it’s the first time in American history that a major trade agreement is being renegotiated, and the first time a would-be president has kept his promise to reopen a trade deal.
He says he shares Donald Trump’s views on trade — and that the U.S. wants substantial changes.
That includes changes to the rules for importing auto parts, higher labour standards and a new dispute-settlement process that respects the sovereignty of individual countries.
His Canadian counterpart, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, points to statistics showing Canada-U.S. trade is balanced.
