News

Canada and U.S. to resume NAFTA discussions

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland is heading back to Washington this week.

According to CBC, Freeland’s primary objective is to rekindle NAFTA negotiations, which stalled after high-level talks broke off earlier this month.  But she also will attempt to secure for Canada a permanent exemption from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, set to take effect on June 1st.

Mexico’s economy minister won’t be part of the Washington talks. He is reportedly in Paris this week, meeting with members of OPEC. Issues between Mexico and the U.S. over automobile manufacturing remain unresolved and threaten to derail the NAFTA talks.

Meanwhile, another U.S.-Canadian trade issue has surfaced. The U.S. has asked the WTO to examine whether Canada’s government is discriminating against U.S. wine by allowing only British Columbia wines to be sold on regular grocery shelfs in the province.