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Several U.S. demands are deeply problematic for Mexico and Canada, among them: stringent, U.S.-heavy origin requirements for autos; a sunset clause allowing leaders to back out at five year intervals; the removal of Chapter 19, which sets out binational panels to resolve anti-dumping and countervailing duty disputes.

“These are proposals that we simply cannot agree to,” Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, who oversees the file, told reporters Tuesday. “One of the things that we tried to do in this round is flesh out those proposals and say it seems to us that if this were to happen the net result would be negative for both of our countries.”

Although Congress is starting to raise a stink, following criticisms from American business and industry associations, President Donald Trump, who has called NAFTA the worst deal in history, is a wild card. Canadian officials seem to hope for a slog rather than a blow-up, and are still hoping for “progressive” elements such as gender and Indigenous chapters, though these are likely to be non-binding.

The next round, if it indeed goes ahead, is being planned for Montreal in January.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

How to pacify the Pacific?

One of Trump’s first moves as president was to remove the U.S. from the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership, which also included Mexico and Canada. Over the summer and fall, the remaining countries have been sitting at tables working out how a deal could come together without American participation.