NAFTA negotiators hope to finish work on less contentious chapters
MONTREAL — NAFTA negotiators are close to completing at least six non-controversial chapters this weekend in their Montreal talks, including ones on digital commerce and anti-corruption, Canadian and Mexican business officials say.
The chapters won’t be considered formally closed until the three leading political ministers from Canada, the United States and Mexico arrive Sunday to assess the progress.
But the possibility of “parking” the chapters — a trade term that essentially means putting an issue on the shelf and concentrating on other, more contentious ones — is raising hopes among Mexican and Canadian business leaders that enough incremental progress will be made in Montreal to keep the negotiations alive.
The apparent progress sheds light on less controversial aspects of the sprawling 30-chapter NAFTA renegotiation, where Canadian counter-proposals to so-called U.S. poison pills on autos, dispute resolution and a sunset clause are front and centre.