<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">INSIDE US TRADE</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Daily News</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 24pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Lighthizer: NAFTA countries 'nowhere near close’ to a deal</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">May 17, 2018</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">The three NAFTA countries are still far from a deal, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Thursday, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a broad agreement on auto rules of origin had been reached and suggested talks were in the final phase.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">“The NAFTA countries are nowhere near close to a deal,” Lighthizer said in a statement listing a slew of areas in which the countries remained far apart.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">“As I said last week, there are gaping differences on intellectual property, agricultural market access, de minimis levels, energy, labor, rules of origin, geographical indications, and much more,” he continued.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">“We of course will continue to engage in negotiations, and I look forward to working with my counterparts to secure the best possible deal for American farmers, ranchers, workers, and businesses,” Lighthizer added.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland arrived in Washington, DC, on Thursday to meet with stakeholders on NAFTA, and senior Canadian officials held talks with USTR on NAFTA Thursday as well, according to a Canadian official.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Earlier Thursday, <a href="https://insidetrade.com/node/163060" target="_BLANK" class=""><span style="color: blue;" class="">Trudeau said</span></a> the talks were “right down to sort of the last conversations, and we know that those last conversations in any deal are very important so we’re positive about this.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">“But it won’t be done until it’s done and people are working very very hard on it right now,” he added.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Trudeau said divisions remain on dispute settlement as well as a sunset provision pushed by Lighthizer that would automatically terminate the deal after five years unless the three countries agreed to renew it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday <a href="https://insidetrade.com/node/163056" target="_BLANK" class=""><span style="color: blue;" class="">backed down</span></a> from a hard May 17 deadline for the administration to submit a notice that it intends to sign a final NAFTA deal within 90 days, which would have kicked off procedures under the Trade Promotion Authority law necessary to give the current Congress a chance to vote on a new NAFTA deal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Ryan said the wiggle room negotiators have to strike a deal after May 17 would depend on how quickly the U.S. International Trade Commission could complete its analysis of a final deal. TPA gives the ITC up to 105 days to do so, and that analysis can begin only after the final text has been submitted and the deal has been signed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Mexico has downplayed Ryan’s concerns about getting a revamped NAFTA before this Congress, but its July 1 presidential and legislative elections have long been described as a crucial time constraint. <i class="">-- Jack Caporal </i>(<a href="mailto:jcaporal@iwpnews.com" class=""><span style="color: blue;" class=""></span></a><a href="mailto:jcaporal@iwpnews.com" class="">jcaporal@iwpnews.com</a></span>)</p></body></html>