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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Canada's Freeland Upbeat on Nafta Talks, Wants Quick Conclusion</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Bloomberg<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">By Doug Alexander and Chris Fournier<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">August 4, 2018<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001LpuLNkl4sBdeN-E5Yvmmg3R1U-7sYalrCnbniDxzbtInctO3smYQ1a_khH8U7GDtwv8UFcQuLzy_G1cpWz25oKY0NGJSZ31dPmfw2wjGVSyWgP-OHBIZz1STxT29ykbrU0CWwN-53cv-LEnzsnZzcZ91ckIikifwzKW_Cs5s09kL92P4a984kYhoQndKybJHWNOQP0gMUqOizYY1_l05b-_JOLUNpoXZxrXkqd-ZToL4hAhfH4A4K6rNf-IOvS8IRLNIwSCnTuebYl31SR0GPA==&c=2jyMfazWC_SdZj2Uw76shQIkjQ7qY32lBSFBUJXNP9-R3bK2OPL_MA==&ch=6qHTGWyWNaOAc2-plFMcBVZgRfuLqM7zU142ytV6wHUraqUd6XwnMg==" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-04/canada-s-freeland-upbeat-on-nafta-talks-wants-quick-conclusion</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Canada’s foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland said she’s ready to move forward quickly once the U.S. and Mexico reach an agreement on automobiles, and downplayed
any notion that her country has been shut out of North American Free Trade Agreement talks.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">“I and Canada are very, very keen to get it done as quickly as possible,” Freeland told reporters Saturday during a conference call from Hong Kong, where she stopped
en route from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Singapore.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">“We’re very, very supportive of moving forward fast, and we are in close touch with both our Mexican and U.S. counterparts,” Freeland said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative, said in late July that an agreement in principal could be achieved this month, and he blamed Canada for not compromising
in the same way the U.S. and Mexico had. Since then, negotiations have carried on mostly without Canada as Mexico and the U.S. focus on resolving bilateral issues, particularly regarding autos.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Freeland said Canada and the U.S. had already moved past some of the key auto issues around domestic content requirements and rules of origin before talks stalled
in May, while the U.S. and Mexico still have work to do, although they were making good progress.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">“That is the engine of this deal,” she said, referring to the auto chapter. “It is fiendishly complicated, and that needs to get sorted out.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Freeland sidestepped questions about whether she or Canada’s lead Nafta negotiator Steve Verheul would be in Washington in the coming week, saying instead that her
country is ready to negotiate “anytime, anywhere,” and that she looks forward to discussing the remaining issues with her U.S. and Mexican counterparts.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">She reiterated that Nafta is “absolutely,” a trilateral deal, and that modernizing the 24-year-old pact is a priority for Canada. The U.S. and Mexico are said to
be close to a deal on rules for cars sold under Nafta.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">****<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Canada 'Very Keen' on Wrapping Up Year-Old NAFTA Talks</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Reuters<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">By David Ljunggren<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">August 4, 2018<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001LpuLNkl4sBdeN-E5Yvmmg3R1U-7sYalrCnbniDxzbtInctO3smYQ1a_khH8U7GDtf8On9SdhH0bT8XzDclHoQfu7d4muXu8vGFkPAelWRQiKafnyLplFh1Rs2NYG-3nwMOwsi9PMUCDV3ttRex6xA1x-lwj2kIxMAg6uI0LkeETtbzhQZGUnxiGVrcLJ1Vj-kTGhWsFmQhzCLhr6LBpQmagwq19NUlvlpEGEoV6cnG0KmoLDqUjeP7HQlGZFMqOgigdv4Na4JqLBzJ98R_q0fA==&c=2jyMfazWC_SdZj2Uw76shQIkjQ7qY32lBSFBUJXNP9-R3bK2OPL_MA==&ch=6qHTGWyWNaOAc2-plFMcBVZgRfuLqM7zU142ytV6wHUraqUd6XwnMg==" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-canada/canada-very-keen-on-wrapping-up-year-old-nafta-talks-idUSKBN1KP0K8</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Canada is "very keen" on concluding negotiations to renew the North American Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on
Saturday, amid signs of progress after months of delays.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Talks to modernize the 1994 trade pact started in August 2017 but have dragged on much longer than expected as Canada and Mexico pushed back against far-reaching
U.S. demands for reform. President Donald Trump has said he will walk away from NAFTA unless major changes are made.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">In a renewed push, Mexican and U.S. cabinet ministers held a series of meetings in Washington over the past week in a bid to work out their differences. One Mexican
official expressed optimism that some kind of agreement could be reached by the end of the month.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">"I and Canada are very, very keen to get it done as quickly as possible," Freeland told reporters on a conference call. She did not answer directly when asked whether
the end of August was a realistic deadline.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Mexican and U.S. officials are due to meet again next week to work on contentious issues such as wages and rules governing how much North American produced content
an automobile must contain to qualify for duty-free status.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Freeland said she was ready to join the talks at any time but did not give details. Canadian officials dismiss speculation that she is being sidelined.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">"While this is a trilateral agreement ... there are also significant bilateral trading issues between each of the countries," said Freeland, adding that she welcomed
bilateral talks between Canada's two NAFTA partners.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">The Trump administration, which complains NAFTA caused hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs to move to plants in low-wage Mexico, wants Mexican workers to
be paid more and is demanding more North American content in cars and light trucks produced in the NAFTA nations.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">****<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Mexico eyes NAFTA breakthrough next week, says Canada joining soon</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Reuters<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">By Daphne Psaledakis, David Lawder<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">August 3, 2018<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001LpuLNkl4sBdeN-E5Yvmmg3R1U-7sYalrCnbniDxzbtInctO3smYQ1a_khH8U7GDtdmCO72oeLUV0HHbwVZPDxeN2tCOtT5zm9ftWaxqJ5Bg8oF0W7abrtxGFLrAAFrL8t1_HkfIYQhHjWN9LZ3_n-_SBo-0fKPibERj2a08uxNCnV0GIw7KPp6O0kDDxqjUtY_77fS93D038F9P-DQ2TCQKJy01L5LsUqBM8QU8QAkYHykt9zZ9HnkHXd4ueglZ9khGqYWTdPOjpVs-LJjsgpRRFevIBX_x-&c=2jyMfazWC_SdZj2Uw76shQIkjQ7qY32lBSFBUJXNP9-R3bK2OPL_MA==&ch=6qHTGWyWNaOAc2-plFMcBVZgRfuLqM7zU142ytV6wHUraqUd6XwnMg==" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta/mexico-eyes-nafta-breakthrough-next-week-says-canada-joining-soon-idUSKBN1KO1XL</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Mexico’s economy minister said on Friday that Mexico and the United States could overcome key stumbling blocks standing in the way of a new NAFTA deal next week,
adding that Canada would likely soon rejoin the negotiations.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Mexican and U.S. teams will work through the weekend to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the ministers will return to the table late next week,
Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told reporters after meetings with U.S. officials in Washington.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Mexico and the United States resumed talks last week, after a U.S. move to slap tariffs on Mexican and Canadian metal exports and Mexico’s July elections stalled
negotiations that began last year when President Donald Trump demanded a better deal for U.S. workers.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">“Technically, we are ready to move into finishing the issues, Mexico-U.S. issues, the most next week. There are very good probabilities that we’ll be landing solutions,”
Guajardo said in English.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">“We are optimistic that we can try to land a deal before the end of August,” adding there were “three critical, specific points” to resolve that he declined to specify.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Another senior Mexican negotiator was a little less bullish about the chances of a deal this month.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">“I am cautiously optimistic. I think it can be done, but there can also be problems. We have to see,” Jesus Seade, who joined the Mexican negotiating team last week
representing President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Canada has not been at the table in rounds of talks over the past weeks. Some experts say this is a sign of tensions between Canada and the United States, while officials
insist trilateral talks will soon resume.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Guajardo said top U.S. and Mexican officials could meet again on Wednesday or Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Rules for the auto sector, including a U.S. demand for higher wages in Mexico, as well as a U.S.-proposed sunset clause that would kill the deal if it is not renegotiated
every five years, have been major stumbling block to talks.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Seade said the issue of the sunset clause could be broached next week. “It is something we have to discuss and the time has come,” he said. “We have said that is
not something we can work with.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Guajardo said neither the sunset clause nor wages were being discussed between Mexico and the United States on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Michael F. Dolan, J.D.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Legislative Representative<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">International Brotherhood of Teamsters<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Desk 202.624.6891<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Fax 202.624.8973<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT","serif"">Cell 202.437.2254<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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