U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will be meeting Thursday in Washington with Mexican officials to restart renegotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement. The third partner in NAFTA, Canada, will not be there. Whether they were ever interested in being part of Thursday’s talks is unclear.
A report Tuesday by Canada’s National Post, citing anonymous sources, claimed Lighthizer’s Canadian counterpart, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, had made an overture to join Thursday’s meeting and the U.S. did not reciprocate. The story was headlined “Canada rejected in bid to be part of high-level NAFTA talks between Mexico and U.S.: sources.”
However, the Post also reported that the request was made in a “low-key” manner followed by a “retreat to silence.” Canada did not want to press the issue in order to prevent any diplomatic embarrassment.
Freeland’s office disputed the report, telling the Post they were “not aware of any (such) request by Freeland.” A source with Canadian Embassy told the Washington Examiner the report was “rather misleading.”
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office declined to directly comment on the Post’s report. In a statement to the Washington Examiner, USTR spokeswoman Emily Davis noted the U.S. has often held one-on-one talks regarding NAFTA.
“In addition to the trilateral meetings, throughout the renegotiation of NAFTA there have been numerous bilateral meetings among the three partners, including meetings between Canada and Mexico, Canada and the United States, and Mexico and the United States,” Davis said. “In every meeting arrangement, the United States is focused on completing the best possible trade deal as quickly as we can.”
Trump administration officials have often proposed splitting the 1993 trade deal into two bilateral ones, a move which would result in the U.S. having much more leverage in the talks. Canada and Mexico have often acted as a united front against the administration’s proposed changes to NAFTA.
The U.S. has reportedly been much closer to hammering out a new agreement with Mexico than it has with Canada.
