Trade Cases
April 4, 2018
NAFTA Eighth Round Abandoned for Ministerial Meeting
Written by Sandy Williams
A de facto round eight of NAFTA negotiations is about to begin in Washington, D.C., despite the U.S. Trade Representative deciding not to host an official eighth round. Instead, a “ministerial meeting” between Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo will be held along with discussions by chief negotiators, senior political staff and several chapter leads.
Lighthizer is pushing for an “agreement in principle” by mid-April that can be announced by the three heads of state at the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, that begins on April 13.
