With last weekend?s announcements of progress being made in trade between the United States and China, focus is starting to go back to our two closest neighbors: Canada and Mexico. Will there be a new version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) this year?
United States Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced the progress made with Chinese trade on Sunday. However, there are still question marks with two of our biggest trading partners, Canada and Mexico.
Mnuchin told CNBC news there are significant open issues.
Mnuchin has talked with his counterparts and there is a desire to get a deal done.
Mnuchin says President Trump is involved in negotiations and is focused on getting a good deal.
There has been talk of a ?Lite Version? of NAFTA, or ?Skinny Deal? that would not need to go through Congress. Mnuchin says the focus is on getting a full deal done that can go through Congress.
Politico reports that Negotiators from the U.S., Mexico and Canada have closed nine chapters and six sectorial annexes. Those chapters include: telecommunications, small- and medium-size enterprises, competition and technical barriers to trade.
