NAFTA: Deadlock on hard issues as round concludes under cloud of question marks
MEXICO CITY — Another round of NAFTA talks wrapped up with all key issues still deadlocked Tuesday as negotiators prepared to leave Mexico City with a plethora of question marks lingering over the trade deal.
The negotiators made progress on a variety of technical files, nearly concluding some less-controversial chapters such as digital trade, sanitary measures, customs enforcement and telecommunications.
But on hot-button files like autos, dairy, dispute resolution, and a U.S. idea to make it easier to terminate NAFTA, they cite no real progress. Sources from host country Mexico described a lingering standoff on multiple fronts, which Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland confirmed back in Ottawa.
”I think our approach is to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst,” Freeland said outside the House of Commons, describing the state of the talks.