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WASHINGTON — Talk of an impending NAFTA deal is premature, Canadian union leader Jerry Dias said in Washington while officials were negotiating there Wednesday.

The Unifor boss said he’s been in contact with the Canadian negotiating team and said speculation from some about an imminent agreement in principle is divorced from reality.

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The United States has been increasingly anxious to get something announced this month, before it becomes impossible for the rest of this year because of elections in Mexico and the U.S. Congress.

“They’re not close to a deal at all,” Dias said in an interview.

“There’s way too many tables that have yet to be closed… The main issues around auto, labour standards, (dispute-resolution rules under) Chapter 11 — those issues haven’t been resolved yet at all.”

The sides are meeting constantly in an effort to reach some sort of deal this spring.

In addition to the current sessions in Washington, the ministers leading the talks will be in Peru at the Summit of the Americas this week. Chrystia Freeland, Robert Lighthizer and Ildefonso Guajardo will likely hold separate bilateral sessions, possibly capped with a trilateral meeting.