Canada upbeat on deal progress, China tariffs loom

Hossen Sohel: Talks between the United States and Canada will continue after the two sides made “good progress” in their effort to rewrite NAFTA, as Washington was poised for a possible escalation in its trade war with China, reports AFP.
Discussions with Canada — the largest US trading
partner — seem to be on track to agree on a rewrite of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. Washington has already reached a new deal with Mexico.
But there have been no further discussions to try to resolve the US dispute with Beijing, and Trump could announce the next step — steep duties on half the goods America imports from the world’s second-largest economy — as soon as Thursday.
Updating reporters on efforts to keep NAFTA 2.0 as a three-party trade deal after a meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canada’s top diplomat Chrystia Freeland said it “was important to discuss a few points face to face,” adding: “We are making good progress.”
She added senior officials would continue to work through part of the night and she would meet Lighthizer again on Friday.
Freeland earlier spoke of “goodwill on both sides” but declined to give any details or say whether the discussions would continue into the weekend.
“If I had sleeves I would be rolling them up right now, but it’s too hot for sleeves,” she quipped, in reference to the sweltering weather in the US capital for the past week.
“We really are confident a deal which is good for Canada, good for (the) United States and good for Mexico is possible and that’s what we’re working towards.”