The fourth round of talks regarding renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were held in Arlington, Virginia, during October 11-17, 2017. According to a Trilateral Statement on the Conclusion of the Fourth Round of NAFTA Negotiations, “the United States, Canada, and Mexico have now substantively completed discussions in the Chapter on Competition.” Additionally, the Trilateral Statement states that NAFTA countries “have now put forward substantially all initial text proposals” and “made progress in several other negotiating groups, including customs and trade facilitation, digital trade, good regulatory practices, and certain sectorial annexes.” The next round of negotiations will take place in Mexico City from November 17-21, 2017. Meanwhile, “negotiators will continue intersessional engagement, as well as intensive consultations with their respective stakeholders.”

While negotiations are not being conducted publicly, press reports indicate that challenging topics include automotive rules of origin, dispute settlement, government procurement, and a sunset clause that would limit the lifespan of any new deal to five years (unless the three Parties agree otherwise in advance of the expiration of any given five-year period). Another area of contention specifically between Canada and the U.S. is market access for dairy and poultry products for American exports to Canada. On dairy, Andrew Leslie, parliamentary secretary to Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, has said that Canada “has room to negotiate.” With regard to poultry, Mr. Leslie stated that it would “not be a huge NAFTA-stopping issue.”

NAFTA renegotiation talks are expected to continue into 2018. We will provide further updates as developments warrant.