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“You’d have a forum for trying to fix things.”

Ross said U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer, who is leading the NAFTA talks for his country, agrees with him that it’s a good idea. But Ross conceded it’s unclear the other NAFTA countries will ever accept it.

He reiterated his goal of reaching a deal by the end of the year. Afterwards, he said, it will become harder to nail down a deal in 2018 as Mexico and the U.S. have national elections, the U.S. fast-track law is up for renewal and Canada has provincial elections. If there’s no deal, he said the president is serious that he might terminate NAFTA.

“It’s a very real thing,” Ross said of the president’s threat.

“But it is not the preferred option.”

The idea of an automatic sunset appears to be a non-starter.

Shortly after Ross left the stage, the U.S. ambassadors of Canada and Mexico appeared for a panel discussion. Both strongly rejected the idea,and said the U.S. business community would never accept it either.

Country withdrawals

Canada’s David MacNaughton told reporters he’s been hearing this idea for months in closed-door chats. He said he’s never understood the logic behind it, since NAFTA already has a clause allowing any country to withdraw if it really wants to.

But an automatic-sunset clause is designed for something you intend to end, like a law designed to expire, MacNaughton said. That’s the opposite of a trade agreement — whose inherent goal, he said, is to project long-term predictability.