One of the biggest sticking
points in the North American Free Trade Agreement has to do with the auto
industry. There’s a little more optimism about progress after Canada joined
Mexico in indicating there may be room for negotiation in the auto sector. The
development comes just one day after markets dipped on Canada’s fear that the
odds are rising on President Trump following through on his threat to walk away
from the deal. He also suggests that officials are looking for progress during
the next round of discussions in Montreal as a way to keep negotiations moving.
Two unidentified Canadian government officials told Bloomberg that their
country is preparing new proposals related to automobiles at the Montreal negotiations.
Mexico has also signaled that there may be room for a breakthrough in
discussions on the automobile industry. Canada’s Foreign Minister, Chrystia
Freeland, says they’ll bring some new ideas on some of the more contentious
U.S. proposals, but she didn’t identify them. The two unidentified officials
that spoke with Bloomberg say she’s referring to the auto sector. Freeland also
says the three countries are close to agreements on several of the
“bread-and-butter” issues in the NAFTA discussions.
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