U.S., Canada and Mexico Wrap Up Nafta First Round
August 20 2017 - 4:42PM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Munoz
WASHINGTON -- The U.S., Mexico and Canada on Sunday afternoon
wrapped up the opening round of talks to renegotiate the
23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, whose overhaul is
a key objective of the Trump administration.
A statement issued by the office of the U.S. Trade
Representative by the three countries said experts covered more
than two dozen different negotiation topics over five days of
meetings, and would stick to a tight timetable to complete the
renegotiation, reconvening in Mexico from September 1 to 5, Canada
in late September and the U.S. in October.
"The scope and volume of proposals during the first round of the
negotiation reflects a commitment from all three countries to an
ambitious outcome and reaffirms the importance of updating the
rules governing the world's largest free trade area," the statement
said.
While the U.S. has vowed to revamp the agreement to reduce the
trade deficit and bring back manufacturing jobs, Canada and Mexico
generally hope to limit changes to the deal.
Officials from all three countries will continue to seek input
from the private sector, industry, civil society, labor, and state
and provincial officials as the talks continue, the statement
said.
Write to Sara Munoz at Sara.Munoz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 20, 2017 16:27 ET (20:27 GMT)
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