US, Canada to resume Nafta talks

The US and Canada will resume high-level talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

Canadian Foreign Minister and US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer will meet on Tuesday to try to hammer out the final complex details of a North American agreement with the aim of including all three countries in the 24-year-old deal, reports The Hill.

Discussions weren't expected to get going again until the end of the week.

The US and Canada met for most of last week without reaching a resolution. They are aiming to complete a deal by the end of the month so that Mexico, Canada and the US can sign an agreement by the end of November.

On Monday, Lighthizer was in Brussels to meet with his counterpart European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström for the first time since President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed in July to discuss a possible trans-Atlantic trade deal.

The USTR said in a statement that Lighthizer "had a constructive meeting" with Malmström to "improve trade relations between the US and the European Union".

The trade ministers are set to meet again at the end of the month. In October, staff will hold further discussions on identifying and reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, with more meetings expected in November to resolve issues in several areas, the USTR said.

Malmström called the meeting "forward-looking".

--IANS

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