Monday 5 March 2018

Bilateral deals could replace NAFTA if pact is not renegotiated soon: US

US trade deficit

The top US trade envoy said on Monday that bilateral deals could replace NAFTA if the pact is not renegotiated soon, ramping up pressure on Canada and Mexico, already smarting from President Donald Trump's plan to impose steel and aluminium tariffs.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said political headwinds would increase the longer the negotiations dragged on, warning that time to rework the 1994 trade deal was running "very short."

"We would prefer a three-way tripartite agreement. If that proves impossible, we are prepared to move on a bilateral basis," Lighthizer said, reading from a statement in Mexico City at the end of the seventh round of talks.

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