NAFTA: Concern over stalls

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer released the following statement on Nov. 21 at the conclusion of the fifth round of renegotiations in Mexico City, Mexico for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): “While we have made progress on some of our efforts to modernize NAFTA, I remain concerned about the lack of headway. Thus far, we have seen no evidence that Canada or Mexico are willing to seriously engage on provisions that will lead to a rebalanced agreement. Absent rebalancing, we will not reach a satisfactory result. “A rebalanced, updated NAFTA will promote greater prosperity for American workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses and strengthen the North American region as a whole. Our teams will be meeting again next month in Washington [D.C.]. I hope our partners will come to the table in a serious way so we can see meaningful progress before the end of the year.”