<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=""><div class=""><i class="">According to a Politico reporter, Minister Freeland also said: </i></div><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div><div class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><i class=""><span style="color: rgb(20, 23, 26); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">Canada welcomes Mexico’s “significant” concessions on auto rules and labor in </span><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NAFTA?src=hash" data-query-source="hashtag_click" class="twitter-hashtag js-nav pretty-link" dir="ltr" in_tag="ol" kaspersky_status="skipped" style="color: rgb(18, 48, 168); text-decoration: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">#NAFTA</a><span style="color: rgb(20, 23, 26); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">, which “must have been quite difficult for them.”
It’s good for U.S. and Canadian workers who’ve “been concerned for some time about their jobs going to lower wage jurisdictions.”</span></i></blockquote></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/canadian-foreign-minister-starts-negotiating-trade-with-us/2018/08/28/9109e432-ab09-11e8-9a7d-cd30504ff902_story.html?utm_term=.ed314e15dc6c" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/canadian-foreign-minister-starts-negotiating-trade-with-us/2018/08/28/9109e432-ab09-11e8-9a7d-cd30504ff902_story.html?utm_term=.ed314e15dc6c</a></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""> </span></i></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 20pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Canadian Foreign Minister optimistic on trade with US</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">By Luis Alonso Lugo | AP </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">August 29, 2018<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""> </span></div><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" class="">WASHINGTON — Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said her meeting Tuesday with United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was “a very good, constructive conversation” about how to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; outline: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" class="">Freeland told reporters after the meeting she and her team plan to work this week in “a full-steam effort” and said both parties will start diving into specific issues Wednesday morning.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; outline: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" class="">Freeland hurried to Washington a day after the Trump administration reached a preliminary deal Monday with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; outline: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" class="">She doesn’t have much time, because Lighthizer intends to formally notify Congress of the deal with Mexico on Friday.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; outline: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" class="">Freeland said both parties “are set for an important and constructive week” but also warned that “we are prepared for all scenarios.”<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; outline: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" class="">She said significant concessions from Mexico in the areas of labor and rules of origin on cars “really paved the way for what Canada believes will be a good week.”<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; outline: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" class="">The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Mexico had agreed to ensure that 75 percent of automotive content be produced within the trade bloc (up from a current 62.5 percent) to receive duty-free benefits and that 40 percent to 45 percent be made by workers earning at least $16 an hour. Those changes are meant to encourage more auto production in the United States.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 13.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; outline: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" class="">Tuesday’s meeting was the first time Freeland had met with her U.S. counterparts in Washington since May.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p></div><div class=""><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" class=""><br class=""></span></div><br class=""><div class="">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; " class=""><div class="">Arthur Stamoulis</div><div class="">Citizens Trade Campaign</div><div class="">(202) 494-8826</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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