26 October 2017 Fourth round of NAFTA negotiations completed, fifth round delayed until November 17 On October 17, 2017, the United States, Canada and Mexico completed the fourth of seven scheduled rounds of negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This seven-day round, which took place in Washington, DC, has likely been the most controversial as US negotiators raised several sensitive topics, including: — Increasing the regional value content for automotive vehicles to 85%, with 50% of that content sourced from the US — Adding a sunset provision under which NAFTA would expire every five years unless all parties agree to extend it The fifth round of negotiations, which was originally scheduled to take place in late October in Mexico City, has been postponed until November 17 to give negotiators more time to discuss the positions and proposals raised in the fourth round. The parties also agreed to schedule additional rounds of negotiations in early 2018. In the meantime, lobbying efforts in Mexico, Canada and the US continue, with private sector leaders from Mexico and the US working together to create awareness of NAFTA's importance and the negative effects that could result if the US withdraws from the agreement.
Document ID: 2017-1780 | |||||
