NAFTA Nations Reports Progress Despite Tensions

Negotiators in the NAFTA talks say they’re making progress after the third round of talks concluded Wednesday.  A Bloomberg report says that talk of progress comes as tensions grow between the U.S. and Canada over aircraft.

The U.S. imposed trade duties on Canadian-made aircraft, inflaming tensions with Canada.  The nations did make some progress in the talks, including closing out the chapter on small and medium-sized businesses.  The U.S. Commerce Department made the decision to impose duties on Bombardier’s marquee jetliner on the final day of negotiations. Canada’s Foreign Minister calls the Trump Administration “protectionist,” saying that fact is no big secret to the rest of the world.

At the same time, she says the Bombardier issue is separate from the NAFTA negotiations. Negotiators did say they made progress in several different areas, including telecommunications, digital trade, and state-owned enterprises. The chapter on competition will probably be agreed on before the next round of talks begins.

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