US meets Thursday with Mexico only to talk NAFTA

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.”